Electric car maker Tesla said on Tuesday it agreed to buy privately held Perbix, which designs automated manufacturing equipment.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In a filing, Tesla said it will pay stock and cash for Perbix and the company’s owner, Jim Dudley, would receive 34,772 shares in Tesla, worth about $10.5 million at the company’s current share price of around $300.

Minnesota-based Perbix has been a Tesla supplier for nearly three years and an acquisition by the carmaker would allow it to bring more parts production in house.

“With the acquisition of Perbix, Tesla further advances its efforts to turn the factory itself into a product to build the machine that makes the machine,” Tesla said on its website.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has insisted on performing much of the work within the company, one of the reasons Tesla has been continually pushing back production targets for the Model 3 sedan.

Tesla makes many of its auto parts, including car seats, which big automakers usually farm out to specialists.

Tesla recently dismissed at least 700 employees, or about 2% of its workforce, for performance-related issues, the company has said. The acquisition of Perbix adds 150 employees back to its ranks.

Additional reporting by Lora Kolodny.

Source: Tech CNBC
Tesla bought a company to help automate its factories