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Tesla releases Conflict Mineral report, extending history of humane mining practices
Tesla has released its Conflict Mineral Report for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2019. In the report, Tesla outlined its processes for securing minerals used in its products, ensuring they are obtained in humane ways that do not involve any child labor, human trafficking, or slavery. Many of the minerals are obtained through the efforts of Tesla’s suppliers. The minerals must be “DRC Conflict Free,” meaning that the materials do not benefit “armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or any adjoining country.”
Tesla states that its conflict minerals are:
- Columbite-tantalite (Tantalum)
- Cassiterite (Tin)
- Gold
- Wolframite (Tungsten)
- and any derivatives of the above
The company states that any of its products, whether be its electric vehicles or its energy storage products, could contain some portion of these “conflict minerals.”
The materials are considered “conflict-free” as long as they do not benefit any of the armed groups in the DRC, and Tesla requires all of its suppliers to establish several processes to ensure the automaker humanely obtains them. The company writes:
“Tesla requires our suppliers to establish policies, due diligence frameworks, and management systems consistent with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (“OECD Guidance”). Tesla expects its suppliers to stay up to date with and to use validated conflict-free smelters and refiners assessed by the Responsible Mineral Initiative (“RMI”) and similar organizations.”
(Credit: Tesla)
Furthermore, Tesla also has internal guidelines for itself that it commits to. These include:
- Continuously evaluating our supply chain to address any risks related to conflict minerals, human trafficking, slavery, and child labor;
- Reviewing suppliers’ practices to ensure their compliance with Tesla’s policy
- Requiring our Tier 1 suppliers to certify that their materials incorporated into Tesla products comply with the applicable laws related to conflict minerals, slavery, child labor, and human trafficking of the country or countries in which they are doing business;
- Disciplining contractors and appropriate parties who fail to meet the requirement of our Code and Policy, including potential termination of contract;
- Ensuring appropriate Tesla employees are aware of issues regarding conflict minerals, human trafficking, child labor and slavery, particularly with respect to mitigating risks within Tesla’s supply chain;
- Investigating if Tesla has a reasonable basis to believe that a supplier may be engaging in human trafficking, slave or child labor, or use of conflict minerals;
- Transitioning away from purchasing goods or services from any supplier that is believed to be engaging in human trafficking, slave or child labor, or use of conflict minerals if the supplier does not take corrective actions.
Tesla also has a four-step Due Diligence process to ensure that all minerals are obtained humanely.
- Establish Strong Company Management Systems
- Identify and Assess Risk in the Supply Chain
- Identify and Assess Risk in the Supply Chain
- Perform Independent Third-Party Audit of Supply Chain Due Diligence
Tesla states in its report that, “Due to its downstream position in our supply chain, any efforts to understand the origin of raw materials rely heavily on the cooperation of our Tier 1 and upstream suppliers. We have uncovered no evidence to date that our suppliers’ sourcing of 3TG materials has contributed to conflict or human rights violations.”
It does, however, list several areas as “covered countries” and states that “Tesla does not directly source from these countries and has no relationship with any companies or individuals located within their national boundaries.” The countries listed are considered “covered” as a part of the U.S. Conflict Minerals Disclosure Rules.
These countries include:
- Burundi
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Rwanda
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Zambia
Tesla’s primary goal is to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy. Although the country is focused on scalability and handling its increasing demand, it is unwilling to cut corners and intends to continue creating its vehicles in an environmentally friendly way throughout the entire supply chain.
The full report is available here.
Tesla will increase its Full Self-Driving subscription price, meaning it will eventually be more than the current $99 per month price tag it has right now.
Already stating that the ability to purchase the suite outright will be removed, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this week that the Full Self-Driving subscription price would increase when its capabilities improve:
“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD).”
This was an expected change, especially as Tesla has been hinting for some time that it is approaching a feature-complete version of Full Self-Driving that will no longer require driver supervision. However, with the increase, some are concerned that they may be priced out.
$99 per month is already a tough ask for some. While Full Self-Driving is definitely worth it just due to the capabilities, not every driver is ready to add potentially 50 percent to their car payment each month to have it.
While Tesla has not revealed any target price for FSD, it does seem that it will go up to at least $150.
I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve.
The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD). https://t.co/YDKhXN3aaG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, 2026
Additionally, the ability to purchase the suite outright is also being eliminated on February 14, which gives owners another reason to be slightly concerned about whether they will be able to afford to continue paying for Full Self-Driving in any capacity.
Some owners have requested a tiered program, which would allow people to pay for the capabilities they want at a discounted price.
Unsupervised FSD would be the most expensive, and although the company started removing Autopilot from some vehicles, it seems a Supervised FSD suite would still attract people to pay between $49 and $99 per month, as it is very useful.
Tesla will likely release pricing for the Unsupervised suite when it is available, but price increases could still come to the Supervised version as things improve.
This is not the first time Musk has hinted that the price would change with capability improvements, either. He’s been saying it for some time. In 2020, he even said the value of FSD would “probably be somewhere in excess of $100,000.”
The FSD price will continue to rise as the software gets closer to full self-driving capability with regulatory approval. It that point, the value of FSD is probably somewhere in excess of $100,000.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2020
Tesla has chosen to axe the ability to purchase Full Self-Driving outright from a select group of cars just days after CEO Elon Musk announced the company had plans to eliminate that option in February.
The company is making a clear-cut stand that it will fully transition away from the ability to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright, a move that has brought differing opinions throughout the Tesla community.
Earlier this week, the company also announced that it will no longer allow buyers to purchase Full Self-Driving outright when ordering a pre-owned vehicle from inventory. Instead, that will be available for $99 per month, the same price that it costs for everyone else.
The ability to buy the suite for $8,000 for a one-time fee at the time of order has been removed:
NEWS: Tesla no longer allows buyers to purchase FSD outright in the U.S. when ordering a pre-owned vehicle directly from inventory. Tesla now gives you the option to either subscribe for $99/month, or purchase FSD outright after taking delivery (available until February 14th). pic.twitter.com/1xZ0BVG4JB
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 23, 2026
This is a major move because it is the first time Tesla is eliminating the ability to purchase FSD outright for one flat fee to any of its vehicles, at least at the time of purchase.
It is trying to phase out the outright purchase option as much as it can, preparing people for the subscription-based service it will exclusively offer starting on February 14.
In less than a month, it won’t be available on any vehicle, which has truly driven some serious conversation from Tesla owners throughout the community.
There’s a conflict, because many believe that they will now lose the ability to buy FSD and not pay for it monthly, which is an attractive offer. However, others believe, despite paying $8,000 for FSD, that they will have to pay more money on top of that cost to get the unsupervised suite.
Additionally, CEO Elon Musk said that the FSD suite’s subscription price would increase over time as capabilities increase, which is understandable, but is also quite a conflict for those who spent thousands to have what was once promised to them, and now they may have to pay even more money.
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Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature not available on typical Model Ys
These camera washers are crucial for keeping the operation going, as they are the sole way Teslas operate autonomously. The cameras act as eyes for the car to drive, recognize speed limit and traffic signs, and travel safely.
Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature that is not available on typical Model Ys that people like you and me bring home after we buy them. The feature is something that many have been wanting for years, especially after the company adopted a vision-only approach to self-driving.
After Tesla launched driverless Robotaxi rides to the public earlier this week in Austin, people have been traveling to the Lone Star State in an effort to hopefully snag a ride from one of the few vehicles in the fleet that are now no longer required to have Safety Monitors present.
BREAKING: Tesla launches public Robotaxi rides in Austin with no Safety Monitor
Although only a few of those completely driverless rides are available, there have been some new things seen on these cars that are additions from regular Model Ys, including the presence of one new feature: camera washers.
With the Model Y, there has been a front camera washer, but the other exterior “eyes” have been void of any solution for this. For now, owners are required to clean them manually.
In Austin, Tesla is doing things differently. It is now utilizing camera washers on the side repeater and rear bumper cameras, which will keep the cameras clean and keep operation as smooth and as uninterrupted as possible:
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
Rear Camera Washer on Tesla Robotaxi pic.twitter.com/P9hgGStHmV
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 24, 2026
These camera washers are crucial for keeping the operation going, as they are the sole way Teslas operate autonomously. The cameras act as eyes for the car to drive, recognize speed limit and traffic signs, and travel safely.
This is the first time we are seeing them, so it seems as if Safety Monitors might have been responsible for keeping the lenses clean and unobstructed previously.
However, as Tesla transitions to a fully autonomous self-driving suite and Robotaxi expands to more vehicles in the Robotaxi fleet, it needed to find a way to clean the cameras without any manual intervention, at least for a short period, until they can return for interior and exterior washing.
Tesla to increase Full Self-Driving subscription price: here’s when
Tesla starts removing outright Full Self-Driving purchase option at time of order
