Asian Tech Press (June 8) -- Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd (BYDDF: OTC US) will supply batteries to Tesla, an executive confirmed in an interview.

"BYD respects Tesla," Lian Yubo, BYD's executive vice president and director of the Automotive Engineering Research Institute, said in an interview with Kate Kui Yingchun, a news anchor in China's state-owned broadcaster CGTN, "We are now good friends with Elon Musk as well."

In a video posted by Kui on Wednesday, Lian added that BYD will provide battery products for Tesla.

Last year there was news that BYD would supply blade batteries to Tesla in the second quarter of next year, and Tesla models with blade batteries had been already in the C sample testing stage.

Tesla's battery suppliers currently include South Korea's LG, Japan's Panasonic, and Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL).