Tesla Motors’ Battery Factory Could Reduce Lithium Oversupply

Bloomberg reported that according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS), the battery factory that Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is planning may require up to 17 percent of current lithium output. That’s good news for the lithium market, which is currently facing oversupply.

As quoted in the market news:

The battery plant that Tesla co-founder Elon Musk has called a ‘gigafactory’ could require the equivalent of 15,000 tons to 25,000 tons of lithium carbonate annually at full capacity, Goldman analysts led by Robert Koort said in a report today. That estimate exceeds a Feb. 26 Bank of America Corp. prediction the facility would use 9,000 tons.

Tesla today sold $2 billion of convertible notes to fund the factory intended to lower the cost of lithium-ion batteries used in its vehicles and for power storage. The increasing popularity of Tesla’s electric cars, which use larger battery packs than competing models, should help narrow the coming lithium oversupply, Koort wrote.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.