Oil giant Exxon Mobil has announced plans to enter the market for the key electric vehicle (EV) battery mineral lithium, stating that it plans to set up its “first phase” of lithium production in the U.S. by 2027.
Exxon will produce lithium in southwest Arkansas, with initial production starting as soon as 2027, according to a press release shared on Monday. The company arm will be branded Mobil Lithium, and it aims to be a lead supplier of lithium for EV batteries by 2030.
Earlier this year, Exxon got the rights to over 120,000 gross acres of the Smackover Formation, which houses one of the most vast reserves of lithium in North America. The company expects the site to help contribute to U.S. energy stability, along with progressing U.S. climate initiatives and supporting manufacturing.
It also says current talks with potential partners, including EV and battery manufacturers, are still ongoing.
More lithium for #EV batteries. Less environmental impact.
That’s the idea behind our groundbreaking plan to put North America on the map as a global lithium producer.
Introducing … Mobil™ Lithium.
Learn more: https://t.co/hUorLbrdLc pic.twitter.com/AYTY9RrdqK
— ExxonMobil (@exxonmobil) November 13, 2023
“Lithium is essential to the energy transition, and ExxonMobil has a leading role to play in paving the way for electrification,” ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions President Dan Ammann said. “This landmark project applies decades of ExxonMobil expertise to unlock vast supplies of North American lithium with far fewer environmental impacts than traditional mining operations.”
Exxon says it will use oil and gas drilling methods in the area to reach lithium-rich saltwater in reservoirs 10,000 feet beneath the ground. The company plans to use direct lithium extraction (DLE) to separate the mineral from the surrounding saltwater before converting the lithium to battery-grade materials. Additionally, Exxon says it will re-inject the remaining saltwater back into the reservoirs once the process is complete.
Notably, the company says the DLE process produces fewer carbon emissions than hard rock mining, and it requires less land.
“South Arkansas is our state’s all-around energy capital, producing oil, natural gas, and now thanks to investments like ExxonMobil’s and their combination of skills and scale, lithium,” Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. “My administration supports an all-of-the-above energy strategy that guarantees good, high-paying jobs for Arkansans – and we’ll continue to cut taxes and slash red tape to make that happen.”
Exxon says it expects demand for lithium to quadruple by 2030, at which point it aims to produce enough battery-grade lithium to supply over a million EVs per year.
Interestingly enough, Exxon invented the lithium-ion battery in 1972, though the company stepped away from the line of products. Now, they’re used in smartphones and other devices, and at a much larger scale, they’re also used in EVs.
Several companies have announced investments in lithium production, especially as the U.S. hopes to reduce reliance on foreign battery supply chains. One example includes EV giant Tesla, which is hoping to begin lithium refining in Robstown, Texas, in 2024.
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Tesla on track to break Volkswagen’s historic record in Norway: report
As per Elbil Statistik, Tesla reached 26,127 Norwegian sales so far this year, without counting 13 imported Cybertrucks.
Tesla is surging towards a historic milestone in Norway this month, putting the company on track to break Volkswagen’s long-standing annual sales record in the country.
With 3,732 units sold in November alone and more than 26,000 delivered year-to-date, Tesla is poised to become one of the most successful car brands in Norway’s modern automotive history.
Tesla closes in on Norway’s all-time sales record
Norway’s demand for Tesla vehicles has intensified as drivers attempt to beat the incoming VAT changes on electric cars. Once the VAT changes take effect, the best-selling Model Y could become 50,000 kroner more expensive, as noted in a CarUp report. This has likely caused a rise in sales for Tesla in the country as of late.
As per Elbil Statistik, Tesla reached 26,127 Norwegian sales so far this year, without counting 13 imported Cybertrucks. This places the brand just hundreds of units away from surpassing Volkswagen’s 2016 record of 26,572 annual registrations. With one month left in 2025, it seems all but certain that Tesla will overtake Volkswagen’s all-time record in Norway.
Tesla sees challenges in Sweden
While Norway is delivering historic results, Tesla’s Swedish performance has moved in the opposite direction. Registrations have dropped 68% this year, totaling just 6,147 vehicles so far. November has seen only 291 deliveries, highlighting challenges in the domestic market’s momentum.
Tesla Sweden is also still dealing with an increasing number of union-backed protests and blockades. Despite the pressure, however, Tesla Sweden has maintained its stance, IF Metall union chair Marie Nilsson to urge Elon Musk to reconsider his perception of organized labor. She also stated that Swedish unions are not like their American counterparts, as they are not as combative.
Tesla Full Self-Driving has officially landed in a new country today, its seventh overall after it launched in both Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.
On Sunday, Tesla owners in South Korea reported that the company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) had started arriving in their vehicles. Owners reported that it was v14.1.4, which is not the latest version available in other countries, but is one of the most recent releases Tesla has deployed to drivers:
From 6 to 7
Tesla Full Self-Driving has launched in South Korea; the 7th country to have FSD https://t.co/X6gm1SyoxV
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 23, 2025
This marks the seventh country in which Tesla has enabled its Full Self-Driving suite, following the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.
Tesla launched Full Self-Driving most recently in Australia and New Zealand about three months ago. The expansion is a major breakthrough for the company as it aims to launch Full Self-Driving on a global scale.
However, the company’s biggest challenge thus far has been getting European regulatory agencies to handle the red tape that has inhibited Tesla from launching its semi-autonomous driving suite on the continent. Recently, it admitted that it sees a pathway through Dutch regulatory bodies, which seem to be the most willing to work with Tesla to get FSD in Europe.
Tesla Full Self-Driving appears to be heading to Europe soon
The company said that it has driven over 1 million kilometers safely on European roads across 17 different countries in internal testing. But its path to success will be by “partnering with the Dutch approval authority RDW to gain exemption for the feature. This involves proving compliance with existing regulations (UN-R-171 DCAS) + filing an exemption (EU Article 39) for yet-to-be-regulated behaviors like Level 2 systems off-highway, system-initiated lane changes with hands-off the wheel, etc.”
Perhaps the expansion into Europe will be the biggest challenge for Tesla, but it could also yield major results and advantages for the company moving forward. Tesla said it hopes to have FSD available in Europe sometime early next year.
For now, the expansion in South Korea is the latest win for Tesla and its self-driving efforts. In the U.S., it now turns its focus toward fully autonomous operation, as it works with state agencies to launch Robotaxi outside of Texas, California, and most recently, Arizona.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased the insane capabilities of the next major Full Self-Driving update just hours after the company rolled out version 14.2 to owners.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 had some major improvements from the previous iteration of v14.1.x. We were on v14.1.7, the most advanced configuration of the v14.1 family, before Tesla transitioned us and others to v14.2.
However, Musk has said that the improvements coming in the next major update, which will be v14.3, will be where “the last big piece of the puzzle finally lands.”
14.3 is where the last big piece of the puzzle finally lands
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2025
There were some major improvements with v14.2, most notably, Tesla seemed to narrow in on the triggers that caused issues with hesitation and brake stabbing in v14.1.x.
One of the most discussed issues with the past rollout was that of brake stabbing, where the vehicle would contemplate proceeding with a route as traffic was coming from other directions.
We experienced it most frequently at intersections, especially four-way stop signs.
Elon Musk hints at when Tesla can fix this FSD complaint with v14
In our review of it yesterday, it was evident that this issue had been resolved, at least to the extent that we had no issues with it in a 62-minute drive, which you can watch here.
Some owners also reported a more relaxed driver monitoring system, which is something Tesla said it was working on as it hopes to allow drivers to text during operation in the coming months. We did not test this, as laws in Pennsylvania prohibit the use of phones at any time due to the new Paul Miller’s Law, which took effect earlier this year.
However, the improvements indicate that Tesla is certainly headed toward a much more sentient FSD experience, so much so that Musk’s language seems to be more indicative of a more relaxed experience in terms of overall supervision from the driver, especially with v14.3.
Musk did not release or discuss a definitive timeline for the release of v14.3, especially as v14.2 just rolled out to Early Access Program (EAP) members yesterday. However, v14.1 rolled out to Tesla owners just a few weeks ago in late 2025. There is the potential that v14.3 could be part of the coming Holiday Update, or potentially in a release of its own before the New Year.
Tesla on track to break Volkswagen’s historic record in Norway: report
Tesla Full Self-Driving lands in a new country, its 7th
