Tesla might get into the mining business to secure minerals for electric batteries

Tesla may get in the business of mining oils utilized in electric vehicle batteries if it wants to expand its product line and scale production, CEO Elon Musk said during the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

The comments came following Musk talked about plans for an electric pickup truck along with an aim to begin production of its all-electric Class 8 semi truck by the end of 2020. He said the plans were determined on Tesla’s capability to fabricate a good deal of lithium-ion battery cells.

“There’s no much point in maintaining merchandise complexity when we neglect ’t have sufficient batteries,” he explained. “That is complexity, but with no profit. ”

Tesla’s massive mill in Sparks, Nevada has been built to expand international battery capability, and in turn reduce the expense of electric vehicles. The plant, called Gigafactory 1, generates Model 3 electric motors and battery packs, in addition to Tesla’s electricity storage items, Powerwall along with Powerpack. Panasonic, its most important partner as a provider and partner at that project makes the cells. Tesla then uses the cells to create battery packs for its electric vehicles.

For the time being, Tesla intends to match product rollout with scaling of mill production. Once Tesla increases production to a “very high degree,” it will “look further down the supply chain and get in the mining business, I don’t understand, perhaps a tiny bit at least,” Musk exclaimed.

“We can do whatever we have to do in order to make sure that we can scale in the quickest rate possible,” he added.

Concern about the supply of nickel, nickel, lithium and associated nutritional supplements used in electric batteries isn’t new. Last month, Tesla’s thoughts of minerals said through a closed meeting with an industry conference that the provider expects international shortages of nickel, lithium and copper in the near future, Reuters reported.

While much of the attention has centered on lithium materials, nickel and aluminum are also vulnerable. Years of underinvestment have depleted copper supplies, prompting businesses like Freeport-McMoRan to enlarge from the United States and Indonesia.

It’s possible that Tesla will focus on nickel mining, a mineral that Musk has pushed the company to use more of in lieu of cobalt.

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