Ford’s IP licensing deal with CATL has sent ripples throughout the automotive industry, following what Rethink Energy predicted as a new route for OEMs in the US to gain access to Chinese battery expertise. Rumors have surfaced around Tesla following in Ford’s footsteps as it looks to strike a deal with CATL to license its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) manufacturing knowledge on US soil. This would be CATL’s second major deal following the introduction of the inflation reduction act (IRA). The deal would look very similar to Ford’s licensing of CATL’s LFP technology, where Tesla would own the factory in its entirety to avoid falling foul of IRA “entity of concern” restrictions. If someone told us even last year that…