Reports of an overture towards the American electric vehicle maker come days after Nissan’s merger talks with Honda collapsed.

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.

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.

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. The group includes Hiro Mizuno, a former Tesla board member, and ex-premier Yoshihide Suga.

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.

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.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has denied rumors suggesting that Tesla might invest in the struggling Japanese automaker Nissan. This denial came after a report indicated that a Japanese group was seeking to attract investments into Nissan,