Elon Musk Says Tesla Will Have To Start Mining Lithium

screenrant.com:

Elon Musk, the CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, said in a tweet that his automotive company might mine and refine lithium due to the element's rising cost. Lithium is used to produce lithium-ion batteries, which are still the standard for rechargeable batteries in various consumer technologies, even though there are significant drawbacks to lithium-ion batteries. Such as the dangers of battery degradation, which can cause batteries to lose capacity and potentially combust. Lithium-ion batteries are present in everything from cell phones to electric vehicles. Musk suggests that Tesla consider becoming more involved in the mining and refining industry to combat inflation and increased costs.

Due to various factors impacting the global supply chain, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, critical components have been unavailable. This has caused prices to rise across the technological and automotive industries for both producers and consumers. Tesla has not been immune to these factors — twice in a single month, it raised its electric vehicle prices by as much as $10,000. In a tweet, Musk provided a report by the Financial Times and confirmed that both SpaceX and Tesla have seen "significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials and logistics." Now, the situation is dire enough that the CEO is publicly considering a deeper involvement in some areas of Tesla's supply chain.

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Musk's Twitter exchange began after an account called World of Statistics noted the sharp increase in lithium prices over the past decade. In 2012, the price of lithium per metric ton — which is equivalent to roughly 2,200 pounds — was 4,450 U.S. dollars.