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Biden’s $3bn EV battery manufacturing allocation is only half the battle: mining expert
Mining expert Trent Mell, CEO of Electra Battery Materials, is pleased about the Biden Administration’s allocation of $3.1 billion to promote the domestic manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries in the United States. However, Mell says the manufacturing is only half the battle, as more focus will be needed on the upstream activities of the EV battery manufacturing supply chain.
Yesterday, we reported the Biden Administration had officially announced it would launch a $3.16 billion plan to boost U.S.-based manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries. The funding will support grants to build and develop battery and battery component manufacturing facilities within the United States.
Biden Administration announces $3bn plan for U.S.-based EV battery manufacturing
The move is a small part of a much larger shift to electric vehicles, a plan that the U.S. has put in place to catch up with leaders China and Europe, who have adopted EVs at a much larger rate than Americans have. The U.S. government has set aside external goals of having 50 percent of all passenger sales be electric by 2030. Additionally, the U.S. government wants 600,000 cars and trucks within the federal fleet to be EVs by 2035.
Mell, who has pushed for domestic manufacturing of batteries and mining practices in North America, has positive thoughts regarding the new $3.14 billion Biden plan to push for more battery production in the U.S. A nudge to the largest battery manufacturers globally to invest with plants in the United States is undoubtedly a good thing, but Mell has concerns about sourcing materials and whether more facilities means more mining.
“It appears that this $3.1 billion in funding for cell plants will largely end up in the hands of some of the largest companies already operating in the EV supply chain,” Mell told Teslarati. “If my assessment is correct, the opportunity here is to convince the large, established battery makers to invest in America over other western economies. “
It is true that many of the largest battery manufacturers in the world have been scouting land in the United States, Canada, and other North American territories for potential cell production projects. CATL, the world’s largest supplier of lithium-ion battery cells, has been scouting sites for a new $5 billion manufacturing plant in the region to supplement the growing EV transition and its need for EV batteries. Building the cells is not an issue, but sourcing materials for them is.
This is where Mell’s concerns begin to rise. As battery manufacturing plants are great, there needs to be a bigger focus on upstream and midstream activities that would supplement the entire supply chain’s ability to remain consistent. “What western economies really need are new investments in upstream activities (mining) and in the midstream (chemical plants),” Mell told us in an emailed statement. “This part of the supply chain is more capital constrained and the investment cycle is a much longer one. If we don’t invest further up the supply chain, all of these battery plants will face a shortage of raw materials.”
Mell pushed for automotive CEOs, like Tesla’s Elon Musk and Ford’s Jim Farley, to pressure more EV battery material sourcing within the U.S. to reduce dependence on foreign sources. After nickel prices rose from $30,000 to $100,000 per metric ton, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to surge domestic production of EV materials. However, more long-tail investments need to be pushed on mining and obtaining these materials domestically, which could affect the production of EV batteries down the road.
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Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in.
Tesla has officially landed approval to operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service in its third U.S. state, as it has landed a regulatory green light from the State of Arizona’s Department of Transportation.
Tesla has been working to expand to new U.S. states after launching in Texas and California earlier this year. Recently, it said it was hoping to land in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, expanding to five new cities in those three states.
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in:
BREAKING: Tesla has officially received approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to launch its Robotaxi service on public roads in the state!
I just confirmed directly with the Arizona DOT that @Tesla applied for a Transportation Network Company permit on Nov 13th.… pic.twitter.com/iKbwfGfiju
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 18, 2025
Tesla has also been working on approvals in Nevada and Florida, and it has also had Robotaxi test mules spotted in Pennsylvania.
The interesting thing about the Arizona approval is the fact that Tesla has not received an approval for any specific city; it appears that it can operate statewide. However, early on, Tesla will likely confine its operation to just one or two cities to keep things safe and controlled.
Over the past few months, Robotaxi mules have been spotted in portions of Phoenix and surrounding cities, such as Scottsdale, as the company has been attempting to cross off all the regulatory Ts that it is confronted with as it attempts to expand the ride-hailing service.
It appears the company will be operating it similarly to how it does in Texas, which differs from its California program. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat, unless the route requires freeway travel. In California, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat. However, this is unconfirmed.
Earlier today, Tesla enabled its Robotaxi app to be utilized for ride-hailing for anyone using the iOS platform.
News
Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
A Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor appeared to doze off during a ride in the California Bay Area, almost ironically proving the need for autonomous vehicles.
The instance was captured on camera and posted to Reddit in the r/sanfrancisco subreddit by u/ohmichael. They wrote that they have used Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area in the past and had pleasant experiences.
However, this one was slightly different. They wrote:
“I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.
This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.
I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.
I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too.
Has anyone else seen this happen?”
My Tesla Robotaxi “safety” driver fell asleep
byu/ohmichael insanfrancisco
The driver eventually woke up after prompts from the vehicle, but it is pretty alarming to see someone like this while they’re ultimately responsible for what happens with the ride.
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
They should have probably left the vehicle immediately.
Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area differs from the one that is currently active in Austin, Texas, due to local regulations. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat unless the route requires the highway.
Tesla plans to remove the Safety Monitors in Austin by the end of the year.
Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.
Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.
It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.
In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.
The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.
Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.
Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.
Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.
Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.
We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:
🚨 Tesla Robotaxi ride-hailing Service in Austin and the Bay Area has opened up for anyone on iOS
Go download the app and, if you’re in the area, hail a ride from Robotaxi pic.twitter.com/1CgzG0xk1J
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 18, 2025
The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.
In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.
Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
