The Big Money Musk Sees in Lithium Is Getting Harder to Make
- Lithium refining margins have fallen by half from a March peak
- Lithium chemical prices flatten out while raw materials rally
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Elon Musk says there’s big money to be made by turning raw lithium into battery chemicals, but shrinking profit margins suggest the mining end of the business might still be a better bet.
Musk last month described lithium refining as the hard part in the complex process of getting raw materials out of the ground and into Tesla Inc.’s cars. For those who can crack it, it’s a “license to print money,” he said.