Tesla CEO Elon Musk Denies Human Rights Abuses In Most EV Battery Production: 'Those That Do...Use Very Little'

Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk on Thursday denied allegations that the use of cobalt in EVs is leading to human rights violations including child labor.

What Happened: Unlike cellphone and laptop batteries that use cobalt, most electric cars use none, Musk said.

“Those that do use cobalt, use very little, as the cathode is primarily nickel, which performs better and costs less than cobalt,” Musk wrote.

He was responding to claims made by climate activist Clover Hogan that the demand for cobalt grows with the rise in demand for EVs. A majority of this cobalt is mined in Congo and leads to human rights abuses including child labor, she alleged.

Hogan thinks that climate change cannot be resolved by tech solutions such as EVs. She instead recommends that cities be made less car-friendly.

Why It Matters: Musk has denied the heavy use of cobalt at Tesla going as far back as 2021. “On a weighted-average basis we might use 2% cobalt compared to say, Apple’s 100% cobalt,” Musk then said.

In a shareholder meeting last May, Musk said that he would personally review the third-party audit of its cobalt supply chain despite shareholders rejecting the proposal for a third-party audit.

"We will do a third-party audit. In fact, we'll put a webcam on the mine and if anybody sees any children please let us know," Musk said.

"I recommend complaining to the phone manufacturers," the CEO added. "But even for the small amount of cobalt that we do use, we will make sure that no child labor is being exploited.”

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