Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently pointed out that no change in copper production is needed in the transition to sustainable energy. However, he stressed that the refining of lithium needs to increase significantly.
On Sunday, Elon Musk responded to a message from the Twitter account @WallStreetSilv, which mentioned that in order for green technology to properly scale up, the world would need to double its annual production of copper. The account also noted that “activists are using ESG to stop the development of new mines”.
In his response, Elon Musk expressed his opinion, stating that the transition to sustainable energy should be achievable without changing copper production. However, the Tesla CEO stressed that it is lithium that needs to see a massive boost.
“The transition to sustainable energy does not require a change in copper production.” Elon Musk wrote: “Lithium refining would need to increase dramatically, but lithium ore itself is very common throughout the planet.”
While Elon Musk has noted in past interviews that Tesla would prefer not to enter the mining industry unless it really needs to, the electric car maker is exploring the possibility of building a lithium refinery on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The company has previously said that it also needs more players to enter the lithium refining industry.
Most electric car batteries need to be made using lithium, and given Tesla’s plans to significantly scale up its business in the next few years, the company is looking for ways to get more raw materials for the batteries it needs for its electric cars and energy storage systems.
