Tesla is ahead of peers in securing crucial nickel for batteries
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Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) inked a multiyear supply deal with mining giant Vale S.A. (VALE) long before the Russia-Ukraine war as part of the electric vehicle maker's global hunt for nickel.
Over the last year, Tesla (TSLA) has also secured nickel supply deals with Talon Metals Corp., BHP Group (BHP) and operators of a mine in New Caledonia.
The urgency for nickel is due to it being a key component for the cathodes of electric-vehicle batteries, especially the longer-range vehicles that Tesla (TSLA) is producing. Nickel prices (LN1:COM) soared 250% in early March before settling back, but are still up 60% in 2022.
Nickel supply has been a topic on many Tesla (TSLA) conference calls in the past, including the most recent one in January. Analysts have noted in the past that Elon Musk and gang have a significant advantage over some EV peers due to their nickel deals.
Shares of Tesla (TSLA) fell back 0.92% in premarket trading on Wednesday after being on a hot streak that pushed the EV giant to a market cap of over $1.1 trillion.