“Can other people, please, for the love of God, in the name of all that is holy, can others please build this stuff?”
Elon Musk made the plea in the final moments of Tesla’s earnings call on Wednesday, sounding a bit fired up.
Musk had just finished giving a blunt warning to American companies: build more battery-making infrastructure in the US or risk falling behind.
The Tesla CEO argued that too many companies are underestimating their exposure to geopolitical risks posed by fragile supply chains, particularly for critical materials used in electric vehicles and energy storage.
“There are so many companies out there that are asleep at the switch with regard to geopolitical risk — or they just have their head in the sand and hope nothing bad will happen,” Musk said. “I’m way more paranoid than that.”
He added that his concern has pushed Tesla to take unusual — and expensive — steps to protect its future, including building its own lithium-refining and battery-production facilities in Texas.
In December 2024, the company began processing lithium from its $1 billion Robstown, Texas, refinery. This month, Tesla announced it is producing dry-electrode 4680 cells with both anode and cathode made in Austin, which will end up in “certain Model Ys.”
On the call, Musk described those facilities as “more advanced than anything else in the world,” but stressed that Tesla does not want to be the only company making such investments.
“Why do we have to build these things? Why can others not also please build these things? I mean, it’s very hard to build these things, and we’re building them out of desperation, because nobody else is building lithium refineries and cathode refineries,” Musk said.
“You know, we’re pretty much the largest, but also the only lithium refinery and cathode refinery in America,” he added. “So, yeah. So. We’re making moves to make sure that, no matter what happens, Tesla will prosper.”
Independent research suggests Musk’s worries are not unfounded.
An October analysis by the Dallas Federal Reserve identified 66 lithium projects across the US, but found that many remain in early development stages and face long timelines, high costs, and volatile lithium prices. Many projects could take a decade or more to reach commercial production, if they get there at all, the study found.
A few other American automakers are beginning to invest as well.
In 2024, General Motors invested $625 million in Vancouver-based Lithium Americas Corporation’s plans to build a lithium mine in Nevada. The facility is expected to become America’s largest mine and plans to open between late 2026 and early 2027. In 2025, the US government took a minority stake in the project.
Tesla argues that its investments in battery infrastructure and energy storage have helped offset auto revenue pressure as its car business declines.
Tesla’s lithium-based energy storage batteries — called Megapacks — reported Q4 revenue of over $3.8 billion, a 25% increase from the year-ago period.
Analysts express some concern that Tesla is committing tens of billions of dollars to long-term industrial projects, even as the company is openly uncertain about near-term returns.
“What we learned from the earnings call is that a whole bunch of billions of dollars will be flowing out of the company in the form of capital expenditures: more than $20 billion,” David Meier, a senior analyst at Motley Fool, told Business Insider. “That’s a massive investment, but it’s necessary as the plan is to raise 6 production plants, continue to develop AI infrastructure, and upgrade current manufacturing facilities.”
Musk warned that companies that fail to insulate against geopolitical risks could pay a steep price.
“Companies that don’t do that,” he said, “a bunch of them will cease to exist.”
