That is next level innovation, you guys just don’t understand. I’m going to upgrade my projected market cap to 10 trillion.
Science China cracks cheap lithium production in electric car breakthrough Scientific breakthrough leads to record low costs for essential battery ingredient US and Europe seek to break Chinese dominance in global supply chain Stephen Chen Published: 11:00pm, 14 May, 2019 Updated: 1:01pm, 15 May, 2019 Shenzhen, in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong province, reached an environmental milestone at the beginning of 2019, with 99 per cent of its 21,689 taxis now powered by electricity. Photo: AP The production of lithium – an essential ingredient in batteries for electric cars – has become easier and significantly cheaper, thanks to a technological breakthrough, just as US concerns about China’s dominance in the supply chain are on the rise. The cost of extracting the mineral has been slashed to a “record low” of 15,000 yuan (US$2,180) per tonne by the new process, a Chinese government report said. That compares to an international price for lithium ranging from US$12,000 to US$20,000 per tonne – and a long-term contract price of about US$17,000 – over the past year, according to some industrial estimates. The precise production costs of lithium are a closely guarded business secret, but industry insiders interviewed by the South China Morning Post agreed that the rate quoted in the report could be considered one of, if not the lowest, around. Spoiler US eager to recycle lithium batteries to avoid buying them from China While China’s lithium output is still relatively low, it dominates supply of the end product, producing nearly two-thirds of the world’s lithium-ion batteries, compared with 5 per cent for the United States, and also controls most of the world’s lithium processing facilities, according to data from Benchmark Minerals Intelligence. The US has moved to offset China’s dominance in the electric car supply chain, with draft legislation aimed at streamlining regulation and permitting requirements for the development of mines for lithium, graphite and other minerals used in the process. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who introduced the Minerals Security Act alongside Democratic Senator Joe Manchin at the beginning of May, said China’s lead in the electric car supply chain sector gave it an edge in the ongoing trade dispute. “My greatest challenge right now is to educate other members of Congress as to why this needs to be a national priority,” she said. “Our challenge is still a failure to understand the vulnerability we are in as a nation when it comes to reliance on others for our minerals.” Shakeout looms for China’s overcrowded electric car market The US is not the only country playing catch-up with China. France and Germany have also asked the European Commission to support a 1.7 billion euro (US$1.9 billion) battery cell consortium, aimed at reducing China’s dominance. The scientific breakthrough could change the amount of lithium China is able to produce in future. State-owned company Qinghai Lithium Industry – which has been taking advantage of the new process – has enjoyed an average profit margin of more than 50 per cent over the past three years, with total revenues exceeding three billion yuan, according to the Chinese government report. A Tesla Model X electric vehicle connected to a charging station sits outside one of the company’s showrooms in Beijing, China, on May 10. Photo: Bloomberg Share: Li Jian, an executive manager of the company, said the estimate on production costs was “quite accurate” but did not include tax and bank loan interest. He also predicted production costs would “likely decline further in the future with continued technical advancement”. Lithium is extracted from brine but separating it from other elements present in the salts remains a challenge worldwide. Magnesium, in particular, is extremely difficult to separate from lithium because the two minerals have similar ionic properties. According to the report, a 15-year research project funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences has cracked a cost-effective way of unbinding lithium from other minerals, especially magnesium, through multiple processing stages with complex electronic and membrane filtering treatments. China cuts electric car subsidies by up to 60pc in bid to lift quality Dr Ren Dongming, director of the Centre for Renewable Energy Development under China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said the attractive economic return would increase the number of lithium suppliers, helping to bring the price of batteries down and eventually benefit consumers. “Cheaper lithium will benefit electric car makers such as Tesla,” he said. About 30 to 50 per cent of the cost of an electric car currently goes on the battery, according to some industrial estimates. Lower prices, increased range and improving infrastructure such as charge stations would make zero-emission vehicles a more attractive option for car buyers, Ren said. About four per cent of the cars on the road last year were running on electricity, according to the Centre of Automotive Management, a Germany-based research institute. The biggest stock – nearly one million cars – was registered in China, believed to be one of the world’s most lithium-rich countries. A train transports salt past Qinghai Lake in the minerals-rich region of the Tibetan Plateau. Photo: Reuters Share: According to a 2017 Chinese government estimate, the salt lakes on the Tibetan Plateau – where the new technology is being used – hold more than 60 per cent of the world’s lithium reserves. The US Geological Survey estimate last year was significantly lower, placing just 7 per cent of the world’s reserves in China. Meanwhile, other estimates have ranked China’s lithium reserves in second place, after Chile. China’s lithium production remains low, however, with Chinese mines contributing just 9 per cent to global lithium production last year. The lithium reserves in China may be rich, but many are difficult to exploit Xu Hong, a professor at the China University of Geosciences in Beijing In contrast, Chinese factories are consuming more of the metal than any other country, mostly for battery production. Top lithium producers such as Australia and Chile sell most of their output to China and, in recent years, Chinese companies have been buying up mines in lithium-rich countries such as Argentina and Australia. The buying spree has prompted suspicions that Beijing is hoarding its domestic resources while trying to control the global lithium supply. Watch these sectors amid China’s renewable energy push Xu Hong, a professor at the China University of Geosciences in Beijing, said hoarding was not the main reason for China’s low rate of lithium production. Instead, the isolation and harsh environment of the Tibetan Plateau – including high altitudes and low oxygen levels – prohibited large-scale mining at the salt lakes. “The lithium reserves in China may be rich, but many are difficult to exploit,” she said. The separation technology was a recent breakthrough, so adaptation of the method and construction of more factories would take time, and there were also concerns that mining activity could damage the sensitive local environment. “These all need to be considered as costs,” Xu said.
Serious question, kinda remember a 60 minutes in this... Is there a finite supply of the material needed to make these batteries?
I saw the same 60 minutes piece. They re-played it a few weeks back. They said the stuff is found everywhere, most likely even in your backyard. The issue is it's not concentrated enough to make it profitable to mine it except in a few places.
Don't usually buy individual stocks as I feel like I don't know enough and the mutual funds seem to do well but bought some tsla when it was down at 182. Checked in on it today. Now not sure if I should hold on, sell or buy more. FeelinggoodLouis.gif
Hope they aren’t dumb enough to use the actual steering wheel for a game. You would slowly form a bald spot on each of your front tires from the friction.
Yea I thought of this too, this is a marketing video so take it with a grain of salt. Twitter/reddit comments Ive seen suggest it doesn't move nearly as much as in the video but no one really knows yet. I guess you can just buy a usb controller and it works better.
What if I told you to close a quarter Tesla would announce an upcoming price change. Would that surprise you? https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/06/19/tech/tesla-black-paint/index.html
They just changed their standard color from black to white. But end of quarter is usually the best time to get a deal.
This is kind of bad ass.... From the comments: "So I never saw the car until he speed past me. He tried to use the merge lane to pass on the right. After the accident I didn't go near his car and stayed with the guy who took the initial hit (he was shaken up). When the cops arrived I just told the cop(s) that I had a video when he needed it and was let go (the cops didn't want us to stay for fear of another accident). When the police called me I had this clip ready (I only noticed the White Model 3 getting hit when I pulled the video). Cop told me the Durango driver claimed he was swerving to avoid a speeding car behind him when the accident occurred and none of the other drivers knew what happened. Luckily I was able to prove he was a liar and I am a formal witness to the accident with my footage attached to the report. The Cop did ask how I was able to provide all the footage so I told him its standard on Teslas."
Good point. It doesn't seem nearly as cool when I think about how I could spend extra money and time to achieve a more poorly integrated and less seamless effect.
I think most estimates have them nearing the production targets for Q2. It'll be interesting to see where the financials fall
yep sounds like they will have delivered a bunch of cars unless his internal emails and/or leaks were total bullshit. if they are close to their all time delivery mark and still lose hundreds of millions that will be no bueno.
They will be gaap negative and non gaap close to break even but probably negative even at 92k cars. Like say -300 gaap and -100 non gaap
Interesting since it’s a Nordic (read: cold) country. Though a vast majority of their population live in the southernmost parts.
A big part of it is the tax incentives they receive to buy electric cars. If you buy a Camaro V6 new in Norway you have to pay $125,000 in taxes on it. But electric vehicles are exempt from all taxes and fees associated with purchasing a car there.
I slightly get that. I think GA has that as well. The Gas tax is where they get funds to maintain roads. You still use the road but pay no tax. It makes some sense to me
There's a couple in Atlanta but that's it in the state. It's certainly nowhere near enough to care for all roads in the state.
No we don't have tolls like Fla. There are a few paid express lanes outside Atlanta, but not tolls in the traditional sense
looking forward to them burying the delivery numbers tomorrow afternoon after the close. if they delivered the most vehicles in their history elon would be farting rainbows on twitter right now
PA has tolls all over and bring in money for road upkeep. They take in a ton of cash and yet we have shit tier roads compared to Maryland
Isn't he not allowed to post news that would influence stock prices? I know he's skirted that in the past but this would be blatant
he just has to get it approved by his twitter sitter. if they delivered 95k vehicles his twitter sitter will definitely allow him to tweet that, but it would have to be before or after market hours i would imagine.
I think every believes their be just short of that 92ish total, right? That's most of the consensus I've seen
i don't think anyone really knows. if they do deliver over 90k cars and lose money that will be no bueno for them
South Florida has tolls. Just in the last month they added a "fast lane" to an area approaching a bridge but that's the first toll or pay for lane thing we have up here. I think all of them in FL are south of Tampa.