Surprising news today from California… from the WSJ. Toyota and Tesla are partnering up!

Tesla Motors Inc. said it is partnering with Toyota Motors Inc. to make electric cars at a recently shuttered auto plant in Fremont, Calif., in a deal the two companies said also involves Toyota putting $50 million into Tesla.

The cars will be made at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., known as Nummi, a joint venture between General Motors Co. and Toyota in Fremont that had closed earlier this year, Tesla officials said in a statement.

CEO Akio Toyoda said:

“By partnering with Tesla, my hope is that all Toyota employees will recall that ‘venture business spirit’ and take on the challenges of the future,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in a statement. Toyota said it plans to introduce electric vehicles in 2012.

I hate to be so cynical, but I think GM also expected Ross Perot and EDS to bring a venture business spirit into GM and, instead, GM had a negative impact on EDS!

It does raise the issue of culture… our friend Pete Abilla of the Shmula blog tweeted:

shmula : pete abilla (@shmula)
5/20/10 6:57 PM
values misaligned: i wonder if this partnership between tesla and toyota will work - http://is.gd/cicyb – I hope so#lean #nummi

In the blog post he linked to (“Tesla Motors is not Toyota: A Contrast in Disrespect and Respect of People“), Pete criticized Tesla for short-term thinking and for firing employees via a blog post (or at least making them aware of the Detroit office shutdown that way).

Micki Maynard, from the NY Times, tweeted:

Micheline Maynard (@MickiMaynard) 5/20/10 6:36 PM Can you use TPS for what is essentially a car built by hand? They did at Aston Martin, so no reason why not for Tesla.

I think Tesla/Toyota “can” make TPS work, but Maynard has concerns as she added:

@LeanBlog it’s a little premature to say it “will work” in a company that’s been led by an entrepreneur. Musk has to buy into TPS, too.

To the readers — what do you think? Reactions? Predictions? Will the UAW be involved?

It will be interesting to see what happens!

About LeanBlog.org: Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the “lean healthcare” methodology, focused on improving quality and patient safety, improving access, reducing costs, and fully engaging healthcare professionals. He is also the Chief Improvement Officer for KaiNexus.

Tagged as: NUMMI, Toyota, WSJ