Toyota’s investements in Tesla followed Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler in 2009. Daimler purchased 10 percent of Tesla for an undiscovered double-digit figure in the millions. It sold all its shares in 2014 after defining that pure EVs had a viable future.

Daimler prepared its own volume electric vehicles. German producer was carrying of customers believing its vehicles were using Tesla technology.

Toyota originally purchased 3 percent of Tesla in 2010 for $50 million. The two producers even shared some development which for Toyota led to the introduction of the RAV4 EV in 2012.

Shortly after the introduction of the RAV4 EV, Toyota—foolishly—decided to abandon battery-powered electric cars and focus on hydrogen fuel cell cars, leading to the Mirai in 2016.

Realizing its stuppidity, Toyota in 2016 set a department to focus on clear EVs and is now in the race to start volume production by 2020. Like Daimler before it, Toyota is presumably wary of its electric vehicles being linked with Tesla technology.