Tesla has officially taken over Wiferion, a German company that specializes in wireless charging technology. The acquisition comes a month after filings emerged showing the company was intending to sell its shares to Tesla.
While neither Tesla nor Wiferion have confirmed the deal, an update to the company’s website shows it has been completed. The footer of the website now includes a reference to ‘Tesla Engineering Germany GmbH 2023.’
Since no official announcement has been made, we don’t know how much Tesla paid for Wiferion, however the company’s most recent financial statement could hold a clue. According to TeslaMag, which first spotted the update, the purchase price was likely US$76 million, the same amount listed under the label of “Business Combinations” in Tesla’s Q2 2023 financial report. As Tesla has not made any other acquisitions during the second quarter of 2023, Teslamag speculates that this amount represents the amount of money to the former shareholders of Wiferion.
The primary focus of Wiferion has changed since Tesla’s acquisition. As we reported last month, Wiferion primarily served industrial customers with inductive charging systems, catering to driverless transport systems, robots, and forklifts. However, the German Commercial Registry now reflects a different direction for the company, with a new focus on the development, manufacturing, and distribution of “products and services in the field of power electronics and other technical disciplines to support the advancement of electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems and devices. This includes power generation systems and devices like solar modules, solar electric systems, and other solar energy conversion technologies, as well as all other power generation systems, related products, and components.”
Tesla has been actively developing a wireless charging solution for their electric vehicles (EVs) for over a year, and this acquisition could help push the product over the finish line. During the Investor Day presentation in March, the company discreetly showcased a wireless induction charger in action with a Model S inside a residential garage.
