Elon Musk has engaged in Twitter spats with a long line of folks, from rival automakers to short-sellers and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

He's at it again, but this time the stakes could be even higher. He's in a rare public dispute with a critical supplier: Panasonic Corp., the company that makes all of the lithium-ion battery cells that power Tesla Inc.'s electric vehicles.

The rift started with reports the companies are tempering expansion plans at their jointly operated battery plant near Reno, Nevada. Musk shot back in tweets that Panasonic is the culprit by operating at a reduced pace, constraining production of Tesla's Model 3 sedan.