During the conference, Tesla CEO Elon Musk proudly reported on the company's record second-quarter profits. He also took the opportunity to criticize other companies.
This time, it was a serious blow to Apple, which, according to Musk, "uses more cobalt in its batteries than Tesla." In a fit of anger, he even suggested that Apple's batteries are almost entirely made of it, while his company's batteries contain only about 2%t of the element. Musk's indignation is easy to explain, since cobalt is a key element for the production of batteries. This material is essential not only for modern gadgets, but also for electric cars. Notably, the production of cobalt causes some difficulties. About 60% of the metal is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where no one cares about human rights and decent working conditions. Even children work in the mines to extract this chemical element.
This attack on the part of Musk can also be explained by the fact that Apple is preparing to release its own electric car Titan by 2024, and then cobalt could really become scarce. In addition, Doug Field, former vice president and head of engineering at Tesla, who left the company for Apple in 2018, has been appointed as the project manager.