Tesla signs deal to get key battery component outside China

Anything that reduces sourcing from China is a good thing.

Well done Tesla!

Anything that reduces sourcing from China is a good thing.

Hear hear!

The deal with Syrah is part of a broader effort by automakers to secure relatively scarce raw materials for batteries as demand for electric vehicles is expected to grow,

If the raw materials to produce batteries is already "scarce", how sustainable is the electric vehicle industry? It's not only cars, trucks, buses and other public transportation vehicles that need these batteries, but aviation is recently pumping up it's efforts to develop and produce electric powered flying machines.

There is nothing inherently wrong with trading with China. The problem is that if that country becomes the sole source of any essential materials, they can try to exercise influence where previously they could not.

Anyone notice the irony of this coming from a company with a huge "Gigafactory" in Shanghai? Just asking .....

Ironic that a Chinese-built road would be used in Mozambique for to reduce the world's dependence on Chinese goods. Hopes are that the Salton Sea area in California will be another source of rare metals.

If the raw materials to produce batteries is already "scarce", how sustainable is the electric vehicle industry?

They're only "scarce" in the sense that they're still in the ground. Unlike conventional acid batteries, components of these can be recycled almost indefinitely.

Salton Sea area in California will be another source of rare metals.

The area is already being called "Lithium Valley". I hope some of the wealth generated from this new gold rush filters down to the people who live there and provides a decent tax base for badly needed public services.