Tarrifs

[Steve181]

My 2025 Lucid Air Pure tag said that 53% was US made. The major non-US part is likely the battery, according to what I have gleaned from the web: "Lucid Air and Gravity models use batteries produced by Panasonic Energy, with cells initially sourced from Panasonic's facilities in Japan and eventually from their new plant in De Soto, Kansas, which is expected to be operational by March 2025."

If this happens soon, then Lucid may quickly become one of the highest US percentage cars sold.

 

[FathomBlueStealt]

rare earth restriction by China is another challenge for EV companies like Lucid as China processes >90% of rare earths. Hopefully Lucid has enough inventory to survive this period of turbulence and uncertainty.

 

[Steve181]

rare earth restriction by China is another challenge for EV companies like Lucid as China processes >90% of rare earths. Hopefully Lucid has enough inventory to survive this period of turbulence and uncertainty.

Yes. And magnets for their motors. Those use the rare earths

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

when the world discovers dilithium crystals ...

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

Cosmo in the lab with the first sample of Chilean lithium brine, circa 1975. Lab simulation of Atacama desert in N. Chile. The Atacama desert in N. Chile is in the Guinness book of records twice: "longest period of no recorded rainfall" and " driest place in the world ". It is surrounded by Andean volcanoes (source of lithium). = an old technique: let the sun / low humidity do all the work: get rid of the water.

these solar-evaporation ponds contain higher and higher concentration of lithium. the nasty orange ones up to 6% lithium are ready to feed to the purification plant. All the lithium stays in solution. The sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and other salts that "fall out" are "sent back" from the high lithium ponds to the lower lithium ponds, so every last bit of lithium trapped in the salt brine is harvested. We did this all on bench-top...the old school way.It took years. Today, a day on a laptop, at home.

This process development (solar evaporation) led to such low cost production of battery-grade lithium (previously hard-rock mined in N.C.) it made electric cars practical.

Lithium is one of the three primordial elements: Hydrogen. Helium. Lithium. everything else comes from that. Bang.