A high-level Japanese group that includes a former prime minister has drawn up plans for Tesla to invest in Nissan after the collapse of its merger talks with Honda , the Financial Times said on Friday.

While the Honda-Nissan merger is no more, a Japanese group is drawing up plans for Tesla to invest in Nissan, Reuters has reported, citing the Financial Times. Described as a high-level Japanese group that involves

Nissan Motor Co. shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. to aid the struggling carmaker.

A high-level Japanese group that includes a former prime minister has drawn up plans for Elon Musk’s Tesla to invest in the struggling carmaker Nissan, following the collapse of its merger talks with rival Honda.

Nissan and Honda ended merger talks to forge a $60 billion car company on Thursday, pitching Nissan deeper into uncertainty and highlighting the pressure on legacy automakers from Chinese rivals upending the industry.

Japan’s Nissan and Honda have ended discussions on a deal that would have created the world’s third-largest carmaker.

Japanese automakers Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi are dropping their talks on a business integration. The automakers said Thursday that they agreed on the move.

The plan to approach Tesla comes after Nissan walked away from Honda’s $58bn merger proposal, spurring fears that Japan’s third-largest carmaker could fall into potentially hostile foreign hands, with Taiwanese iPhone assembler Foxconn, activists and private equity groups circling.

Japan's automobile industry urged the government to protect it from U.S. tariffs on auto imports. The U.S. market is crucial for Japanese automakers, including Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. Concerns were also raised about the impact of the tariffs on the global steel market.

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Nissan in recent weeks has been searching for a strategic partner in the tech industry, with some board members suggesting Tesla and Apple as ideal targets.