Panasonic Corp sold its stake in electric car maker Tesla Inc for about 400 billion yen (USD 3.61 billion) in the year ended March, a spokesperson for the Japanese company said on Friday.

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The sale comes as the bicycles to hairdryers conglomerate is seeking to reduce its dependence on Tesla and raise cash for investing in growth.

Panasonic's battery business is dominated by Elon Musk's Tesla, but the two firms have had at times a tense relationship with executives trading barbs publicly.

Panasonic bought 1.4 million Tesla shares at USD 21.15 each in 2010 for about USD 30 million. That stake was worth USD 730 million at the end of March 2020. Shares have gained almost seven-fold since then and closed up 3.5 percent at USD 679.82 apiece on Thursday.

The stake sale will not affect the partnership with Tesla, the Panasonic spokesperson said but comes as the automaker is moving to diversify its own battery supply chain.

Panasonic said earlier this year it would buy the shares of US supply-chain software company Blue Yonder that it does not already own, in a USD 7.1 billion deal.

Panasonic shares were up 4.5 percent on Friday, on track for their biggest daily rise since January.