Tesla has agreed to buy nickel from a mine in New Caledonia in a move to secure its supply of the battery metal, which its chief executive Elon Musk has called the group’s “biggest concern.”
The electric-car maker will become a technical adviser at the Goro mine on the Pacific island and also get long-term supplies of nickel from the project as part of an agreement with the New Caledonian government, according to a person directly familiar with the matter.
The move comes amid growing concerns about future supplies of nickel, following a 26 per cent rally in prices of the metal over the past year and growing investment by Chinese companies in Indonesia. Nickel is needed for the most powerful lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.