Tesla Secures Alternative Nickel Sources Ahead of Price Surge

Tesla has apparently been seeking out and signing on new suppliers for nickel ahead of price surges, Bloomberg reported last Wednesday.

According to Bloomberg, Brazilian mining company Vale has signed a multi-year supply deal with Tesla; the deal reportedly includes nickel sourced from Canadian mines.

It’s not a secret that Tesla has been attempting to secure better nickel supplies, and it’s not surprising. Even before the Russia invasion of Ukraine nickel prices were rising, but in early March prices surged to above $100,000 per metric ton. Russia is one of the world’s largest suppliers of the metal and so, understandably, the sanctions are having a big effect.

And while Tesla has been avoiding much of the industry’s dependence on nickel by making non-nickel batteries, it’s still a large enough component need that the EV company has been courting metal suppliers for years now.

Musk has been touting the need to fold suppliers more directly into the supply web of Tesla, and it seems this is the next big step of that. With luck, Tesla will be able to sidestep most of the nickel price increases due to forethought and smart deals.