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Tesla acquires Canadian battery maker Hibar Systems

Electric vehicle firm boosts battery capabilities with the purchase of Toronto-area company specializing in high-volume manufacturing.

Hibar does high-volume production of lithium-ion batteries. Photo: HIbar

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has acquired an Ontario battery manufacturer, Hibar Systems Limited, according to a filing with regulators. 

The electric-vehicle maker identified Hibar as its subsidiary on October 2 in a registration filing with the federal Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada. 

Electric Autonomy Canada first reported the Hibar purchase on October 4.

Hibar, based near Toronto, specializes in ultra-high-speed production of batteries. The filing makes no indication of when the acquisition took place or the price.  


This acquisition comes as Tesla ramps up its battery capabilities. It reportedly has been in talks a Brazilian firm about supplying it with lithium, essential for lithium-ion batteries. In February, Tesla’s purchased Maxwell Technologies.

Hibar, which had been privately held, has said that exports account for more than 95 percent of its business.  

In April, it received a C$2 million grant from the Canadian government to support battery manufacturing.


Nate Tabak

Nate Tabak is a Toronto-based journalist and producer who covers cybersecurity and cross-border trucking and logistics for FreightWaves. He spent seven years reporting stories in the Balkans and Eastern Europe as a reporter, producer and editor based in Kosovo. He previously worked at newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the San Jose Mercury News. He graduated from UC Berkeley, where he studied the history of American policing. Contact Nate at [email protected].