Elon Musk said in 2023 Tesla would install a webcam to monitor a cobalt mine in the Congo that's it...Elon Musk said in 2023 Tesla would install a webcam to monitor a cobalt mine in the Congo that's it main source for EV batteries.
Artisanal miners carry sacks of ore at an artisanal mine near Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2022.he worked on with the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights estimates that about 40,000 people under 18 work or are present at artisanal small-scale mining operations in Congo. Children are often there “because their families do not have access to childcare. Older children also work in ASM because families need additional income,” according to the study.
Neither Musk nor Tesla responded to requests for comment on the matter. Glencore declined to comment. Cobalt is a crucial component of the batteries Tesla builds for its electric vehicles. Found in combination with copper, the material acts as a stabilizing ingredient in the cathodes of lithium-ion batteries that improves energy density. Congo is the leading source, with about. While cobalt currently goes for about $28,000 per metric ton — less than half the price it was two years ago — it’s still lucrative to mine. Batteries using it go into everything from iPhones to laptops to electric cars.
Tesla hasn’t provided recent details on how much cobalt it uses annually. But Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, which tracks demand for metals used in battery production, thinks the 3% figure remains essentially accurate, largely because the material’s commodity price has fallen by more than half in the past two years.