Japanese business leaders are reportedly urging Tesla CEO Elon Musk to step in as a strategic investor in Nissan after the company’s merger talks with rival Honda collapsed last week.

The Honda-Nissan on-again, off-again, on-again merger is the international automotive saga that keeps on giving. Now there's another twist.

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 stock surged but pared gains on reports the Japanese automaker had a new dance partner — Tesla. Whether a deal with the EV juggernaut makes sense is another story worth exploring.

Nissan Motor stock shot higher on Friday after a published report said the Japanese automaker was pursuing a deal to be bought by a Tesla-led consortium.