Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company is pressing ahead with plans to build a lithium refinery in Texas to boost domestic production of the key commodity used in electric vehicle batteries.
Musk made the remarks during a Tesla earnings call on Oct. 19, during which he called battery-grade lithium “crazy expensive” and called for an expedited permitting process for mines of commodities that he said are “critical to a sustainable energy future.”
“The suggestion that we have is that there should be an expedited permitting process for anything which is critical to a sustainable energy future. So, it doesn’t make sense to put like a coal mine and a sustainable energy battery like lithium mine in the same category,” Musk said….