RE: Strong buy28 Jan 2021 09:51
Tesla’s models use on average around 45 kilograms of nickel (NCA and NCM811). The numbers are based on the assumption that roughly 20% of Tesla newly sold cars would be equipped with LFP batteries through 2030.
And if, as expected, Tesla moves to NCMA chemistries in China, nickel use would go up slightly and cobalt would go down marginally.
When Tesla makes 20 million cars in a year it will need more than 30% of global mined nickel production in 2019 (2020 saw a 20%-plus reduction in output) for its batteries.
Put another way, Tesla will have to buy the entire output of the top 6 producers – Norilsk, Vale, Jinchuan, Sumitomo, Glencore, BHP, and then some.