Late last month, a few hints were dropped by none other than Tesla CEO Elon Musk regarding the possibility of a technical partnership with BMW. Musk told German publication Der Spiegel that both companies were "talking about whether we can collaborate in battery technology or charging stations." Another potential joint project was in carbon fiber development. All bullshit, according to BMW officials who recently clarified the matter to another German business magazine.

Not only won't there be any sort of alliance, but BMW is also not interested in acquiring any Tesla stock. In fact, Daimler-Benz, BMW's domestic rival, just sold its stake in Tesla. Even Toyota appears to be moving on from EV technology, which it received in part from Tesla for the now discontinued RAV4 EV. Toyota wants to focus on hydrogen fuel-cell technology instead. So why did Musk make this collaboration claim if it's not true? Or were there informal talks of some sort and BMW opted to back out entirely? No way of telling for sure, but Tesla is almost certainly seeking a new alliance with someone. After all, it'll soon have the world's largest Gigafactory in Nevada that'll have plenty of capacity to supply other customers.