Elon鈥檚 missing ingredient: the human and political challenges of Tesla鈥檚 supply of Cobalt
In the Fall of 2017, as Tesla prepares its ambitious rollout of the Model 3, the reality of mass market electric vehicles (EVs) seems closer than ever. To tackle climate change 鈥揳nd pollution鈥攎any countries (e.g., France, UK, India, Norway, China) have adopted bans on fossil fuel cars in the coming decades1. Although these policies changes are promising for EVs, the sudden rush for the metals used in lithium-based batteries is, paradoxically, threatening the viability of Tesla鈥檚 supply chain and its dream to deliver a mass market EV car. The sourcing and supply of Cobalt 鈥揳 crucial component of Tesla鈥檚 batteries鈥攊s a particular area of concern and could stop Elon's dream in its track.