Mining

Extraordinary Raw Materials in a Tesla Model S

Published

7 years ago

March 7, 2016

Jeff Desjardins

Tesla-model-s-what-it-made-from-2

The Extraordinary Raw Materials in a Tesla Model S

Presented by: Red Cloud Klondike Strike (Equity crowdfunding in mining)

The Tesla Model S is the world’s most-wanted electric car, with 100,000 units already sold as of December 2015.

Critics have lauded the car for its impressive safety rating, range, and design. However, it is also worth considering that it is the incredible raw materials that go into the Tesla Model S that help to make all of these things possible.

Here’s what’s in a Tesla Model S:

Body and Chassis

Bauxite: The Tesla Model S body and chassis are built almost entirely from aluminum, which comes from bauxite ore. Aluminum is lightweight, which helps to maximize the range of the battery beyond that of other EVs. The total amount of aluminum used in the car is 410 lbs (190 kg).

Boron steel: High-strength boron steel is used to reinforce the aluminum at critical safety points. Boron steel is made from iron, boron, coking coal, and other additives.

Titanium: The underbody of the Tesla Model S is made from ultra high-strength titanium, which protects the battery from nearly any roadside force or piercing.

Interior

Rare Earth Metals: While Tesla engines and batteries do not use rare earths, most high-end car speakers and other electronics use rare earth elements such as neodymium magnets.

Plastic: Most plastics are made from petrochemicals.

Leather: Leather is derived from animal skin, mainly cowhides .

Silicon: Glass windows and other features are made from silicon.

Carbon fiber and copper wire are also used within the interior for various components.

Wheels

Bauxite: Aluminum alloy wheels are also made from bauxite ore.

Rubber: Natural rubber comes from rubber trees, but today 70% of US rubber is synthetic, made from petrochemicals.

Induction Engine:

Copper: Tesla’s high-performance copper rotor motor delivers 300 horsepower and weighs 100 lbs (45.4 kg).

Steel: The stationary piece of the engine, the stator, is made from both copper and steel.

Battery:

The Tesla battery pack weighs 1,200 lbs (540 kg), which is equal to about 26% of the car’s total weight. This puts the car’s center of gravity a mere 44.5 centimeters off the ground, giving the car unprecedented stability.

The battery itself contains 7,104 lithium-ion battery cells. Here’s what’s in each cell:

Cathode: The Tesla Model S battery cathode uses an NCA formulation with the approximate ratio: 80% nickel, 15% cobalt, and 5% aluminum. Small amounts of lithium are also used in the cathode.

Anode: The negative terminal uses natural or synthetic graphite to hold lithium ions. Small amounts of silicon are also likely used in the anode as well.

Electrolyte: The electrolyte is made of a lithium salt.

Copper and/or aluminum foil is also used in the battery as well.

Note: all numbers above are based on the 85 kWh battery model.

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Money

Charted: 30 Years of Central Bank Gold Demand

Globally, central banks bought a record 1,136 tonnes of gold in 2022. How has central bank gold demand changed over the last three decades?

Published

2 weeks ago

March 15, 2023

Govind Bhutada

30 Years of Central Bank Gold Demand

This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.

Did you know that nearly one-fifth of all the gold ever mined is held by central banks?

Besides investors and jewelry consumers, central banks are a major source of gold demand. In fact, in 2022, central banks snapped up gold at the fastest pace since 1967.

However, the record gold purchases of 2022 are in stark contrast to the 1990s and early 2000s, when central banks were net sellers of gold.

The above infographic uses data from the World Gold Council to show 30 years of central bank gold demand, highlighting how official attitudes toward gold have changed in the last 30 years.

Why Do Central Banks Buy Gold?

Gold plays an important role in the financial reserves of numerous nations. Here are three of the reasons why central banks hold gold:

Balancing foreign exchange reserves
Central banks have long held gold as part of their reserves to manage risk from currency holdings and to promote stability during economic turmoil.
Hedging against fiat currencies
Gold offers a hedge against the eroding purchasing power of currencies (mainly the U.S. dollar) due to inflation.
Diversifying portfolios
Gold has an inverse correlation with the U.S. dollar. When the dollar falls in value, gold prices tend to rise, protecting central banks from volatility.

The Switch from Selling to Buying

In the 1990s and early 2000s, central banks were net sellers of gold.

There were several reasons behind the selling, including good macroeconomic conditions and a downward trend in gold prices. Due to strong economic growth, gold’s safe-haven properties were less valuable, and low returns made it unattractive as an investment.

Central bank attitudes toward gold started changing following the 1997 Asian financial crisis and then later, the 2007–08 financial crisis. Since 2010, central banks have been net buyers of gold on an annual basis.

Here’s a look at the 10 largest official buyers of gold from the end of 1999 to end of 2021:

Rank	Country	Amount of Gold Bought (tonnes)	% of All Buying
#1	🇷🇺 Russia	1,888	28%
#2	🇨🇳 China	1,552	23%
#3	🇹🇷 Türkiye	541	8%
#4	🇮🇳 India	395	6%
#5	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	345	5%
#6	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	311	5%
#7	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	180	3%
#8	🇹🇭 Thailand	168	2%
#9	🇵🇱 Poland	128	2%
#10	🇲🇽 Mexico	115	2%
	Total	5,623	84%

Source: IMF

The top 10 official buyers of gold between end-1999 and end-2021 represent 84% of all the gold bought by central banks during this period.

Russia and China—arguably the United States’ top geopolitical rivals—have been the largest gold buyers over the last two decades. Russia, in particular, accelerated its gold purchases after being hit by Western sanctions following its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Interestingly, the majority of nations on the above list are emerging economies. These countries have likely been stockpiling gold to hedge against financial and geopolitical risks affecting currencies, primarily the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, European nations including Switzerland, France, Netherlands, and the UK were the largest sellers of gold between 1999 and 2021, under the Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA) framework.

Which Central Banks Bought Gold in 2022?

In 2022, central banks bought a record 1,136 tonnes of gold, worth around $70 billion.

Country	2022 Gold Purchases (tonnes)	% of Total
🇹🇷 Türkiye	148	13%
🇨🇳 China	62	5%
🇪🇬 Egypt	47	4%
🇶🇦 Qatar	33	3%
🇮🇶 Iraq	34	3%
🇮🇳 India	33	3%
🇦🇪 UAE	25	2%
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	6	1%
🇹🇯 Tajikistan	4	0.4%
🇪🇨 Ecuador	3	0.3%
🌍 Unreported	741	65%
Total	1,136	100%

Türkiye, experiencing 86% year-over-year inflation as of October 2022, was the largest buyer, adding 148 tonnes to its reserves. China continued its gold-buying spree with 62 tonnes added in the months of November and December, amid rising geopolitical tensions with the United States.

Overall, emerging markets continued the trend that started in the 2000s, accounting for the bulk of gold purchases. Meanwhile, a significant two-thirds, or 741 tonnes of official gold purchases were unreported in 2022.

According to analysts, unreported gold purchases are likely to have come from countries like China and Russia, who are looking to de-dollarize global trade to circumvent Western sanctions.