Featured image: @JayAldrich
It is not news that Tesla may start mining the minerals used in electric vehicle batteries. Tesla CEO Elon Musk talked about this last year. Today, during Battery Day, he announced that the company is entering the mining business.
Lithium is one of the most important components for battery production, which is why the company considered this issue in more detail. Musk announced that Tesla had acquired the rights to a 10,000-acre lithium clay deposit in Nevada.
Source: Tesla
Lithium is very abundant on Earth. The lithium in the United States that was discussed today can fully cover the need for electrifying all cars in the country.
Musk said that the company was thinking about how to get lithium in the most environmentally friendly way and a solution was found. Tesla has developed its own lithium mining system using table salt sodium, which can reduce costs by 33%. “Nobody’s done this before, to the best of my knowledge, nobody’s done this,” Musk said.
He explained that all elements are reusable. Basically, they can take a chunk of dirt, get the lithium out of it, and put a chunk of dirt back. "It’s a very sustainable way of obtaining lithium."
Tesla is looking to limit if not totally wean its reliance on third-party suppliers. This approach has proven itself many times over, so it is not surprising that Tesla continues to move this direction.
© 2020, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
