Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised a “giant contract” to a nickel supplier during the Q2 2020 Earnings Call. The problem is that the company will have trouble finding an efficient and environmentally-friendly nickel mine, and it could prove to be Tesla’s biggest challenge yet.
Nickel is a crucial metal in electric vehicle batteries because it can increase energy density and provide cars with more range. Musk stated during the Earnings Call that nickel-based cells are essential for the development of larger vehicles, like the Tesla Semi, for example. “Where every unit of mass that you add in battery pack, you have to subtract in cargo,” he said. “So it’s very important to have a mass efficient and long-range pack.”
Nickel-based cells would give Tesla an advantage in electric vehicle range, a category where the company already leads by a sizeable margin. However, with new vehicles on the way, cells have to be adjusted to work with specific workloads. The Semi is an excellent example of this.
Nickel could replace cobalt in Tesla’s current battery cells. Cobalt, a controversial element on its own, is responsible for stabilizing the cell and has been effective in increasing the safety of the high-energy batteries that Tesla has used. However, the mining process of cobalt is questionable, and mines which can obtain it likely are using child labor, which is highly illegal. It also is not environmentally-friendly to mine.
Tesla has taken extra steps to ensure that its cobalt suppliers are treating their workers humanely through a series of due diligence checks. Third-party companies complete random visits to these mines a few times a year to ensure that the cobalt Tesla is using in its batteries is humanely obtained.
The problem is: Nickel mining isn’t much different. Although it would be advantageous, safer, and provide more range for Tesla’s vehicles, it is tough to find nickel that is environmentally-friendly and responsibly mines. The largest nickel sources are in Indonesia, where millions of tonnes of waste are dumped into the sea, polluting coral reefs and damaging the homes of turtles.
Analysts believe that Indonesian miners will provide nearly all of the growth of nickel supplies over the next decade. With electric cars becoming more popular, batteries will be a large part of the surge in demand for the metal. Still, it is also used in everyday products, like stainless steel appliances, Financial Times says.
Other countries, like Canada and Australia, have nickel mines, but Indonesia is highly concentrated with it.
Steven Brown, a consultant and former employee at nickel mining company Vale, says that it could be challenging for customers who are environmentally-conscious to want products that contain the metal after hearing how some entities dispose of it.
“It could undermine the entire proposition of trying to sell a consumer a product that is environmentally friendly, if you have this back story,” he said.
Even though other countries have nickel available, the increased demand for EVs will require large automakers, like Tesla, to eventually have to source some of the metal from Indonesia. “At some point, it will happen where they can’t avoid Indonesian nickel,” Brown added.
Luckily, Tesla requires its sources to go through due diligence processes, and it is unlikely the company will steer away from them to obtain nickel. Of course, Tesla will benefit from having more nickel, but it has to be sourced responsibly for the company even to consider using it.
On top of that, nickel is the second most expensive metal in EV batteries. It only trails cobalt, which Tesla has worked intensively to get away from because of its environmental and humanitarian impact.
“We use very little cobalt in our system already, and that’s — that may to zero along, so it’s basically about nickel,” Musk said.
There is a delicate balance between positive environmental impact after EVs hit the road and the harmful impact sourcing some of the metals have. However, the automakers do not assume any of the responsibility for the mining companies’ process of getting rid of waste. But it is their responsibility to choose a company that decides to handle the ridding of environmentally-harming materials responsibly.
Tesla has made it a point to choose companies that share their mission for sustainability because the automaker realizes that building an electric car starts with sourcing the materials. If the materials are not responsibly obtained, then the EV isn’t as Earth-friendly as it could be.
Pius Ginting, an environmental activist, summed it up perfectly: “The net result is we have clean air in our cities — but then we destroy a rich biodiversity area.”
After launching in Austin, Texas, last week, Tesla is looking to expand the Cybercab to new parts of the United States in an effort that will see the driverless, steering wheel-less, and pedal-less vehicle chauffeur people around as part of the Robotaxi ride-hailing service.
However, the expansion will go far beyond the United States, and CEO Elon Musk revealed he hopes Europe will be the next market where Cybercab will be operational.
Musk has publicly expressed hope that Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi will reach Europe in the near future.
On September 8, Tesla’s Chief Executive quoted a German rider who had just completed a trip in Austin, Texas, and wrote that he hoped the vehicle would not take years to arrive in Germany. Musk replied with a short but notable message: “Hopefully soon in Europe too.”
Hopefully soon in Europe too https://t.co/vqQ69bLJuN
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 8, 2026
The comment arrived only days after Tesla opened Cybercab ride-hailing to the public in Austin. The two-seat vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals and relies entirely on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. Early passengers have described the rides as quiet, smooth, and more stylish than competing robotaxis such as Waymo.
Austin is currently the only city where members of the public can hail a Cybercab through Tesla’s Robotaxi app. The initial fleet is small; Texas registration records show only a few dozen of the purpose-built vehicles on the road.
Tesla set to open Cybercab rides to the public, with no steering wheel or pedals
Tesla has also been operating a larger number of conventional Model Y robotaxis in the same area, but the Cybercab itself represents the company’s first dedicated, controls-free taxi design.
Europe presents a different regulatory picture. The European Union does not permit manufacturers to self-certify vehicles the way Tesla did in the United States.
Type-approval rules and a small-series limit of 1,500 automated vehicles per type per year apply across the bloc.
Supervised Full Self-Driving has gained provisional approval in several member states through national recognition of Dutch certification, yet unsupervised robotaxi operation remains a separate and more distant step. Tesla has not announced a European launch city, date, or approval pathway for the Cybercab.
Musk himself has previously cautioned that the company does not control European regulators. In an earnings call earlier in 2026, he noted that even supervised FSD took an “immense amount of time” to clear and that unsupervised service would be “somewhat at the mercy of the governments in Europe and the EU.”
The latest social-media remark therefore functions more as an expression of intent than a timetable.
If the Cybercab eventually reaches European streets, it would mark a significant expansion of Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions beyond the United States. For now, the vehicle remains an Austin-only experience, and the gap between Musk’s hope and actual deployment will be decided by regulators rather than by engineering alone.
Tesla Cybercab might have just rolled out to the public as it entered the company’s Robotaxi suite in Austin this past week. However, the vehicle might already be on its way to becoming even better, as the company is asking riders to describe what they’d like to see improved with the Cybercab.
Tesla sent a rider experience survey to Cybercab passengers only days after paid rides began in Austin. The questionnaire asks how satisfied riders were with the overall trip. Then it requests star ratings for availability and wait time, door functionality, vehicle touchscreen, mobile app experience, seat comfort, interior space, ride comfort, cleanliness, and cargo space.
A later section asks which features riders would most like to have and allows selection of up to three items from a list that includes heated seats, ventilated seats, fully reclining seats, a tray table, a wireless phone charger, a better sound system, and more storage. Respondents may also choose none of these or write in another idea. The survey closes with a recommendation score from zero to ten.
Tesla just sent out a Cybercab rider experience survey so you can give feedback to the team. pic.twitter.com/YsU5OYdAjW
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 8, 2026
This rapid request for input illustrates Tesla’s habit of treating early users as collaborators rather than mere customers. The company has long refined vehicles through software updates and hardware changes informed by real-world use across its passenger cars.
Collecting structured opinions so soon after commercial service started shows the same mindset applied to a purpose-built autonomous taxi. The questions themselves reveal an openness to cabin changes even after the first vehicles reached public streets, which is no surprise.
Tesla has always hoped to cater a great experience to anyone in its vehicles, which is why so many fan-requested features have made it into its vehicles.
Replies already circulating online favor reclining seats, tray tables, wireless charging, improved audio, and extra room when seats fold back.
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Those preferences point toward comfort upgrades that Tesla can implement in later production batches or through cabin revisions. Because the Cybercab is designed around software first principles, many requested amenities can arrive faster than in traditional automakers.
Tesla’s willingness to survey riders immediately after launch therefore makes near-term cabin and experience improvements likely as the team reviews responses and iterates toward a more refined robotaxi people will choose daily.
Tesla Cybertruck Lead Engineer Wes Morrill revealed the company has made several changes to the all-electric pickup, which he calls a “living thing, constantly evolving and improving.”
Cybertruck is manufactured at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas just outside of Austin, and over the past few years, Tesla has continued to make small changes to the pickup to improve everything from cost, reliability, serviceablility, and manufacturability.
“The finish line isn’t getting to production. A product is a living thing, constantly evolving and improving,” Morrill added.
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Some of those changes are yet to be revealed, but perhaps the most notable one was the change Tesla made to the aero shield that sits underneath the truck. In the past, it was aluminum, but now the Cybertruck is using a self-reinforcing polypropylene.
Morrill said that the polypropylene is “stretched into fibers and then laminated into the form,” and is much more durable, much lighter, and significantly cheaper than aluminum when it is manufactured this way.
It also enabled some improvements in the geometry of the Cybertruck, improving the manufacturing around the bolts and edges, in addition to minor form changes. These all benefitted the Cybertruck in more ways than one: specifically with durability and improved drag.
I was surprised by how interested people were to find out we made a relatively benign change to the Cybertruck aero shield, a part of the car most people never even see. So I’ll share some more details.
Here are two photos, the left is one of the latest trucks off the… pic.twitter.com/F5cZo2CZKf
— Wes (@wmorrill3) September 7, 2026
Typically, Teslas are not necessarily identified by model year because these changes are fluid and occur when the company sees fit to implement them. It is not like other automotive companies, which usually make sweeping manufacturing changes when building a new model year.
Instead, Teslas are recognized by their “generation” or “era.” For example, those with a newer Model Y might refer to their car as a “Juniper.” This is the same with Model 3, as many refer to the new body style as the “Highland.”
Tesla’s manufacturing changes are proof of the company’s constant need to improve its products and move things forward with its vehicles. There is no need to drag one’s feet and wait until next year if the product can be made better right now, and that’s precisely what Tesla did with the Cybertruck.
Elon Musk hints at Tesla Cybercab’s next market
Tesla Cybercab improvements are already on the minds of company engineers
