Tesla Motors on Mining Venture for Batteries

TESLA MOTORS – Tesla could have a jump into the mining industry to meet its battery needs more quickly, according to Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk.

Musk spoke during the company’s annual shareholder meeting and talked about plans for an electric pickup truck and for mining venture.

He said that the production of its all-electric Class 8 semi-truck could kick off by the end of 2020.

This plan, according to Musk, depends on how fast and efficiently they can manufacture truckloads of lithium-ion battery cells.

“There’s not much point in adding product complexity if we don’t have enough batteries. That is complexity, but without gain,” Musk said.

“We might get into the mining business, I don’t know. We’ll do whatever we can to make sure we can scale as fast as possible,” he added.

Tesla’s so-called Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, Nevada was put up to expand the company’s global battery capacity.

The plant whips out Model 3 electric motors and battery packs, apart from the company’s energy storage products Powerwall and Powerpack.

Meanwhile, concerns over the supply of nickel, lithium, copper, and similar minerals still exist. Just last month, the company’s head of minerals procurement said that they expected a global shortage of the said minerals’ supplies in the near future.

Tesla Motors Cars in the Pipeline

The California-based company said that it’s planning to manufacture a car that can drive 400 miles between charges.

“I want to be clear there is not a demand problem. Sales have far exceeded production and production has been pretty good,” he said. “We’ve decent shot at a record quarter on every level. If not it’s going to be very close.”

This summer, the company also plans to show the world its first pickup truck, which is described by Musk as “the coolest I’ve ever seen.

“If you’re driving it down a road it will look like you came out of a sci-fi movie,” he said.

Moreover, the CEO said that the company already had a design for an aquatic car similar to the one which appeared in the Bond film titled “The Spy Who Loved Me.”

“It’s technically possible. I think the market for this will be small. Small but enthusiastic. Maybe we’ll make one as a show car at some point. That would be really fun,” said Musk.