The "A-Team"
I came across this article that was written earlier in the year.
"Mercedes taps F1 team to keep up with Tesla in race for efficient EVs"
"The F1 engine team at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) in Brixworth in central England is now working on at least half a dozen new projects developing parts for mass-market Mercedes models - batteries, inverters and new generations of motors, Schaefer said."
It is telling that Mercedes would use its 'A Team' to design inverters for the mass-market. It speaks to Mercedes's reputation for innovation, quality and performance. Of the OEMs that have announced their intentions to build their EV powerdrives in-house, Mercedes was still uncertain about its inverters last year. (
link) It seems reasonable that Mercedes would consider EXRO as a collaborator for its new inverter project.
Mercedes consistently is rated as one of the top five OEMs based on revenue, unlike TESLA, which is further down the list. Exro's Innovation Project partner is described as a top five OEM.
(Building/designing the system does not preclude the licensing the CD tech to large-volume OEMs IMO, which was part of Sue's business plan from the git-go)