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Tesla supplier sheds light on graphite supply challenge for EV battery manufacturers [Editorial]
Graphite is an essential part of a lithium-ion battery. There are many challenges that EV battery manufacturers might face in the graphite market as electric vehicle demand continues to rise.
Graphite is often an overlooked essential mineral when people think of EV batteries. However, it is a crucial component in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.
Graphite and Transparency
The chief executive of Syrah Resources, Shaun Verner, shared a bit about graphite pricing and funding for new projects. Syrah Resources is an Australian company that supplies Tesla from its mine in Mozambique, one of the largest graphite producers.
Verner commented that the graphite market lacks transparency when it comes to pricing, leading bankers to hesitate when it comes to funding new graphite-related projects.
Only a handful of countries mine graphite and even fewer refine the mineral enough to be used in batteries and other products. With few producers in the graphite industry, graphite consumers enter into long-term bilateral supply agreements with little transparency on prices. In addition, relatively few analysts follow the graphite industry, making it difficult to get any long-term forecasts on graphite prices.
“The single biggest impediment to new investment is the opaque nature of the market because to get the commercial debt in place is really challenging,” said Verner.
Graphite Supply
Graphite prices have declined in recent months compared to the highs in early 2022. Fastmarkets reported that traditional graphite applications have decreased this year, resulting in “sluggish” conditions in the market. However, graphite demand is expected to rise in the next few years due to growth in the electric vehicle sector.
“Graphite has kind of been the poor cousin of the battery minerals and doesn’t get the attention of the other commodities,” commented Gregory Bowes, executive chairman of the Northern Graphite Corporation. “But we’re getting very close to an inflection point where demand overtakes supply and this is going to be first page news.”
Experts observing the graphite market expect graphite supply to hit a deficit as EV battery makers increase production. Fastmarkets estimates that natural graphite consumption would rise 40% year on year, on par with the EV sector. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence had the same forecast and calculated that graphite supply would hit a deficit of 20,000 tons in 2022.
China’s dominance in the graphite industry factors into the forecasted deficit since it dominates the graphite market. In 2021, China produced 820,000 metric tons (MT) of graphite, a significant increase compared to the previous two years. The US Geological Survey reported that China accounted for 79% of the world’s graphite mining last year. The country’s quick recovery from COVID-19 shutdowns contributed to its dominance in 2021.
“Chinese producers quickly increased production after a few months of closures in 2020. This allowed China to gain a more dominant position in the market for 2021 and slowed down the diversification of the supply chain,” noted the US Geological Survey’s report.
After China, Brazil and Mozambique are the next largest graphite producers. Brazil produced 68,000 MT last year, while Mozambique’s output was 30,000 MT. Russia, Madagascar, Ukraine, Norway, Canada, India, and Sri Lanka make up the remaining Top 10 countries that produce graphite.
Graphite and the Inflation Reduction Act
The graphite industry might be a major challenge for automakers seeking to launch their products in the United States over the next few years. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act included EV tax credits that could go as high as $7,500 for automakers that adhere to a few specific requirements.
One of the requirements to qualify for the EV tax credit is related to batteries and the minerals used to make them. According to the Inflation Reduction Act, at least 40% of the critical minerals used to make US-made EV batteries must also come from US miners or recycling plants. Automakers can also qualify for the tax credit if the minerals used in their US-made batteries come from countries with free trade deals with the United States.
In 2021, natural graphite was not produced in the United States, but it consumed 45,000 tons of the mineral, estimated to be worth $41 million. The United States imported about 53,000 tons of graphite last year, mainly from China. It also imported graphite from Mexico, Canada, India, and other sources.
US Geological Survey mentioned one US automaker in its report about graphite imports. It did not mention the automaker by name.
“A US automaker continued building a large plant to manufacture lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries. The completed portion of the plant was operational, and it produced battery cells, battery packs, drive units, and energy storage products. At full capacity, the plant was expected to require 35,200 tons per year of spherical graphite for use as anode material for lithium-ion batteries,” stated the report.
Eric Desaulniers, the chief executive of Nouveau Monde Graphite, stated that discussions with cell manufacturers have ramped up after the Inflation Reduction Act was passed. Nouveau Monde is currently developing a graphite mine and battery-grade anode plant in Canada.
Desaulniers noted that challenges are ahead when it comes to securing project financing since “cell makers are cash-constrained.” He also noted that automakers had their hands full from scaling up their respective battery manufacturing facilities.
Tesla, considered the lead electric vehicle manufacturer in the United States, is already producing its 4680 battery cells in California. Rivian, General Motors, and other automakers also plan to develop their own battery cells in their own battery manufacturing plants.
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Tesla China’s domestic sales fell 4.8% in 2025, but it’s not doom and gloom
Despite the full-year dip, Tesla finished the year with record domestic sales in December.
Tesla posted 625,698 retail vehicle sales in China in 2025, marking a 4.8% year-on-year decline as the EV maker navigated an increasingly competitive EV market and a major production transition for its best-selling vehicle.
Despite the full-year dip, Tesla finished the year with record domestic sales in December.
Retail sales slip amid Model Y transition
Tesla’s 2025 retail sales in China were down from 657,102 units in 2024, when the company ranked third in the country’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market with a 6.0% share. In 2025, Tesla’s share slipped to 4.9%, placing it fifth overall, as noted in a CNEV Post report.
Part of the decline seemed tied to operational disruptions early in the year. Tesla implemented a changeover to the new Tesla Model Y in the first quarter of 2025, which required temporary production pauses at Giga Shanghai. That downtime reduced vehicle availability early during the year, weighing on the company’s retail volumes in China and in areas supplied by Giga Shanghai’s exports.
China remained one of Tesla’s largest markets, accounting for 38.24% of its global deliveries of 1.64 million vehicles in 2025. However, the company also saw exports from Giga Shanghai fall to 226,034 units, down nearly 13% year-on-year. It remains to be seen how much of this could be attributed to the Model Y changeover and how much could be attributed to other factors.
Strong December 2025 finish
While the full-year picture showed some contraction, Tesla closed 2025 on a high note. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla China delivered a record 93,843 vehicles domestically in China in December, its highest monthly total ever. That figure was up 13.2% from a year earlier and 28.3% higher than November.
The surge was driven in part by Tesla prioritizing domestic deliveries late in the year, allowing buyers to lock in favorable purchase tax policies. In December alone, Tesla captured 7.0% of China’s NEV market and a notable 12.0% share of the country’s battery-electric segment.
On a wholesale basis, Tesla China sold 851,732 vehicles in 2025, down 7.1% year-on-year. From this number, 97,171 were from December 2025 alone. Tesla Model 3 wholesale figures reached 312,738 units, a year-over-year decrease of 13.12%. The Tesla Model Y’s wholesale figures for 2025 were 538,994 units, down 3.18% year-over-year.
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Tesla Robovan’s likely first real-world use teased by Boring Company President
As per the executive, the vehicle will be used to move large crowds through Las Vegas during major events.
The Boring Company President Steve Davis has shared the most likely first real-world use for Tesla’s Robovan.
As per the executive, the vehicle will be used to move large crowds through Las Vegas during major events.
Tesla Robovan for high-demand events
During a feature with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Boring Company President Steve Davis stated that the Tesla Robovan will be used in Sin City once the Vegas Loop expands across the Strip and downtown and the fleet grows to about 1,200 Teslas.
At that scale, Robovans would primarily be deployed during predictable surges, such as game days and large shows, when many riders are traveling to the same destination at the same time.
“The second you have four (passengers) and you have to start stopping, the best thing you can do is put your smallest vehicle in, which is a car. But if you know people are going to the stadium because of a game, you’ll know an hour before, two hours before, that a lot of people are going to a game or a Sphere show, if you are smart about it, that’s when you put a high occupancy vehicle in, that’s when you put the Robovan in,” Davis said.
Vegas Loop expansion
Steve Davis’s Robovan comment comes amid The Boring Company’s efforts to expand the Vegas Loop’s airport service. Phase 1 of rides to Harry Reid International Airport began last month, allowing passengers to travel from existing Loop stations such as Resorts World, Encore, Westgate, and the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Phase 2 will add a 2.2-mile dual-direction tunnel from Westgate to Paradise Road. That section is expected to open within months and will allow speeds of up to 60 mph on parts of the route, while expanding the fleet to around 160 vehicles.
Future phases are expected to extend tunnels closer to airport terminals and add multiple stations along University Center Drive. At this point, the system’s fleet is expected to grow close to 300 Teslas. The final phase, an underground airport station, was described by Davis as the system’s “holy grail.” This, however, has no definite timeframe as of yet.
News
Tesla seeks engineer to make its iOS Robotaxi app feel “magical”
It appears that Tesla is hard at work in ensuring that users of its Robotaxi service are provided with the best user experience possible.
Tesla is hiring an iOS Engineer for its Robotaxi app team, with the job posting emphasizing the creation of polished experiences that make the service not just functional, but “magical.”
Needless to say, it appears that Tesla is hard at work in ensuring that users of its Robotaxi service are provided with the best user experience possible.
Robotaxi App features
As observed by Tesla community members, Tesla has gone live with a job listing for an iOS Engineer for its Robotaxi App. The job listing mentions the development of a “core mobile experience that enables customers to summon, track, and interact with a driverless vehicle. From requesting a ride to enabling frictionless entry, from trip planning to real-time vehicle status and media control.”
Interestingly enough, the job listing also mentioned the creation of polished experiences that make the Robotaxi more than just functional. “You will take full ownership of features—from architecture design to robust implementation—delivering delightful and polished experiences that make Robotaxi not just functional, but magical,” Tesla noted in its job listing.
Apple’s “magical” marketing
Tesla’s use of the word “magical” when referring to the Robotaxi app mirrors the marketing used by Apple for some of its key products. Apple typically uses the word when referring to products or solutions that transform complex technology into something that feels effortless, simple, and natural to daily life. Products such as the AirPods’ seamless pairing with the iPhone and FaceID’s complex yet simple-to-use security system have received Apple’s “magical” branding.
With this in mind, Tesla seems intent on developing a Robotaxi app that is sophisticated, but still very easy to use. Tesla already has extensive experience in this area, with the Tesla App consistently being hailed by users as one of the best in its segment. If Tesla succeeds in making the Robotaxi app worthy of its “magical” branding, then it wouldn’t be a surprise if the service sees rapid adoption even among mainstream consumers.
Tesla China’s domestic sales fell 4.8% in 2025, but it’s not doom and gloom
Tesla Robovan’s likely first real-world use teased by Boring Company President
