Tesla's Battery Supply Chain - A Growing Concern

case W45C54
April 22, 2022

Andrew Hoffman
Tesla’s Battery Supply Chain: A Growing Concern
As her last meeting of the day ended, Teresa Madduxi closed her computer and looked out her office
window as the October sun dipped over Tesla’s Palo Alto campus and the San Francisco Bay. Since 2018,
Tesla had experienced tremendous growth in sales. Earlier in 2021, Tesla announced the delivery of its two
millionth electric vehicle (EV), and Tesla vehicles comprised almost 40% of all EVs on the road globally.
Momentum and excitement continued to build even as the company’s heavy investment in manufacturing
capacity strained to meet overwhelming demand.
As Tesla’s global vice president for supply chain sustainability, Maddux had just finished leading another
working session with her team on how to deal with the lifecycle end for the lithium-ion batteries (LIBs)
that powered Tesla vehicles. Tesla battery packs contained significant amounts of toxic and rare earth
metals, including lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel, and therefore posed a serious environmental
risk if improperly disposed of. Furthermore, since LIBs relied on some conflict minerals, production of the
batteries represented a growing human rights concern. A large percentage of the global cobalt supply was
extracted from the Democratic Republic of Congo and directly linked to funding ongoing civil conflict in
the region, while lithium production was concentrated in South America and recently indirectly linked to
the 2019 Bolivian coup.1 There were growing calls from global nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for
all manufacturers of EVs to address the conflict mineral issue in their supply chains, and recovery of those
minerals from decommissioned batteries potentially represented a powerful tool in that effort.
In its 2020 impact report, Tesla said, “None of our scrapped lithium-ion batteries go to landfills and
100 percent are recycled.”2 Maddux knew this statement was more for generating positive sentiment for
the company than a concrete plan to address the expected increase of LIB recycling. As environmental,
social, and governance (ESG) reporting gained momentum and scrutiny, Tesla wished to remain a leader
in advancing the sustainable enterprise model. Unfortunately, global recycling capacity for LIBs was in its
infancy. Since large-scale production of Tesla vehicles only started in 2013, most vehicles remained on the
i
Teresa Maddux is a fictional character.
Published by WDI Publishing, a division of the William Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan.
© 2022 Eli Goldfarb, Xindi Huang, Alli Lesovoy, Alex Reid, and Kellen Scarpitto. This case was written by University of Michigan graduate
students Eli Goldfarb, Xindi Huang, Alli Lesovoy, Alex Reid, and Kellen Scarpitto, under the supervision of Andrew Hoffman, Holcim (US)
Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, a position that holds joint appointments at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business
and School for Environment and Sustainability. The case was prepared as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either
effective or ineffective handling of a situation. The case should not be considered criticism or endorsement and should not be used as
a source of primary data. The opening situation in the case is fictional in order to provide a more robust student learning experience.
Distributed by The Case Centre North America Rest of the world

www.thecasecentre.org t +1 781 239 5884 t +44 (0)1234 750903
case centre All rights reserved e info.usa@thecasecentre.org e info@thecasecentre.org
Tesla’s Battery Supply Chain: A Growing Concern W45C54
road in 2021. Expectations were that within the next few years demand for LIB disposal would rise sharply,
and by 2030, 1.2 million tons of batteries would need disposal annually (see Exhibit 1). Multiple battery
recycling startups began receiving funding, but none had risen to the top as a viable long-term partner
at Tesla’s scale. Maddux’s meeting included a lively debate: one member of her team raised the idea of
organically growing Tesla’s internal recycling capability, while others considered the opportunity to acquire
a recycling startup, as the industry was still in its early stages. Others advocated exploring partnering with
third-party recycling providers as they gained scale, though there was a risk that the market would not
independently be able to meet Tesla’s needs in a reasonable time frame.
Maddux turned back to her computer. She wanted to have a report with recommendations outlined soon,
a report that would need to reach Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s desk. Should she recommend building an internal
recycling capability? Was there an opportunity to buy a company already working on the problem? Would
external recyclers eventually provide the most profitable alternative? Would a mix of internal capabilities and
a roster of external partners be better? How would these alternatives impact the company’s ESG performance
in coming years? She knew she needed to decide, but what was the best path forward?
History of Electric Vehicles (EVs)
The history of EVs went back farther than some might expect. EVs began in the 19th century as inventors
around the globe sought to improve transportation. One pioneer of electric mobility, Robert Anderson of
Scotland, created the first full-size prototype electric horseless carriage in 1838.3 By 1897, electric taxicabs
Educational material supplied by The Case Centre
were operating in London and New York City. In fact, at the start of the 20th century, 38% percent of cars
Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I
registered in the United States were electric.4
Early gasoline-powered vehicles emitted heavy pollutants and a strong stench, were uncomfortable
because of intense vibration, and generated loud noises that scared the horses sharing the road. EVs did not
have exhaust, released no smell, and were smoother and quieter rides. But a shift from EVs to gas-powered
vehicles began when Henry Ford established the automobile assembly line in 1912.5 The gas-powered Model T
cost only $650 ($18,625 in 2021 dollars), while EVs were priced around $1,800 ($51,577 in 2021 dollars).
EV producers could not compete on cost. As car ownership increased, more smoothly paved roads appeared.
Baker Motor Vehicle, an American manufacturer of electric automobiles at the beginning of the 20th century,
was making cars with alkaline batteries, and even sold a car to Thomas Edison, but ended up not being able
to compete with Ford. Other companies, such as Detroit Electric, persisted into the 1920s, manufacturing
EVs that had a range of 80 miles, but the high price compared to what Ford offered meant it was not a
financially viable alternative.
Gasoline-powered vehicles dominated the globe for decades to come. EV companies popped up from
time to time, but no breakthrough occurred. It was not until the late 20th century that EVs began getting
more attention thanks to a gasoline shortage and then-governor Ronald Reagan implementing the California
Air Resources Board (CARB) to maintain healthy air quality. General Motors released its EV1 in 1996 as a
response to the CARB zero-emission vehicle mandate. The EV1 was available only for lease and was built
with a lead-acid battery, giving it a range of 70-100 miles.6 Lead-acid batteries struggled with memory
effects that led to poor charging, so GM released a Gen II version of EV1 in 1999 that featured a nickel-
metal hydride battery with up to 140 miles of range. During this time, other companies, including Nissan,
released versions of EVs to be competitive in the space. Attention to EVs was growing and automakers
wanted a piece of the market.
2
The excitement around EVs was short-lived, however, as rollbacks to CARB requirements and cheaper gas
prices came about. It was not until 2008 that there were signs of revival in the EV market, as Tesla released
the first one with a 200-miles-plus range, a vehicle named Roadster. The Roadster was not targeted to the
mass market, as the car sold for just under $100,000. In 2010 Nissan delivered an affordable model named
the Leaf which cost just over $25,000 but had a paltry 73 miles of range. The year 2016 saw Chevy deliver
the Bolt, the first affordable EV with over 200 miles of range on a single charge.7 In 2021, Tesla offered the
Model E, the Y, and the 3; Ford offered the Mustang Mach-E, and Volkswagen offered the ID.4, all EVs that
had a range over 200 miles.
In 2021, some of the more prominent examples of the movement to EVs were Ford, who committed to
investing $22 billion through 2025 to deliver battery EVs; Volvo, who planned to go fully electric by 2030;
and GM, who planned to be EV-only by 2035.8 In November 2021, Tesla had a market cap of over $1.1
trillion, making it the sixth most valuable company in the world. The world was swinging toward EVs and
automakers scrambled to stay competitive.
Components of Electric Vehicles

As of 2021, EVs used a large traction battery pack that was rechargeable. They were considered by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be zero-emission vehicles. EVs’ range per charge was shorter
than gas-powered vehicles’ range per tank of gas, but the gap was shrinking. EVs were more efficient when
driving in cities than on highways, as driving in the city maximized regenerative braking, whereas highway
travel used more energy to account for drag at higher speeds. Additionally, cities were typically warmer than
rural areas, and LIBs performed better in warmer climates because colder temperatures led to a slowdown
in the chemical reaction, which in turn hampered performance and reduced battery range. EVs required far
less maintenance than gas-powered vehicles, thanks to having fewer fluids and moving parts, and less brake
wear.9
Most of the electric vehicles on the road in 2021 came equipped with LIBs. These batteries were
known for their high power-to-weight ratio, energy efficiency, and low self-discharge. While they differed
in specific composition, LIBs were found in consumer electronics including cellphones and laptops. Nickel-
metal hydride and lead-acid batteries had been used in vehicles before, but both faced issues that made
LIBs the more attractive option. Typical for batteries, LIBs had a limited number of charging cycles but were
designed to last for the expected lifetime of the vehicle.
The Development of Lithium-ion Batteries

The oil crisis in the 1970s had sparked a wave of research and development of fossil fuel-free energy
sources, namely, superconducting battery cells. Superconductors had low or no resistance to the movement
of electrical currents, making them an ideal means to transmit electrical energy rapidly, also known as
discharge.10 Batteries consisted of a cathode (usually combinations of metals such as nickel, cobalt, and
manganese), an anode (most commonly graphite) and an electrolyte salt solution. A graphical representation
of basic battery construction, and the electron flows during charge and discharge, is provided in Exhibit 2.11
Charging from a power source sent electrons from lithium to the anode, which flowed toward the cathode
during discharge; the latter process resulted in the conduction of electrons (electricity) through the vehicle
load.
Although batteries had been around for decades, early chemistries such as lead-acid and nickel-cadmium
(Ni-Cd) were not efficient and use cases were limited. However, the development of the LIB opened up vast
market opportunities for portable, rechargeable batteries, due in large part to three core properties of
lithium. First, lithium was unique in its ability to separate into Li-ion(+) and electron(-), which allowed
3
for rapid electrical energy flows across the battery. Second, lithium was extremely lightweight (the lightest
metal on the periodic table), which allowed for energy-dense (energy/unit weight) battery cells—a crucial
metric in scaling EV LIBs. Finally, LIB reactions did not degrade the anode or cathode materials, allowing
for sustained performance over thousands of charge/discharge cycles.
This fundamental electrochemical process could be leveraged over many cells at once, resulting in
rapid discharge to power large machines, such as EVs. In the context of EVs, this electrochemical reaction
replaced internal combustion (burning of gasoline) energy with a carbon-neutral and efficient power source.
Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chain and Recycling
As LIBs enabled widespread access to and adoption of portable electronics and provided a means to
decarbonize the transportation sector, there were environmental and social concerns related to extraction
and processing of key input materials. These concerns presented future supply risks, as well as risks to the
public image of sustainability among EV and battery manufacturers. Notably, lithium and cobalt sources were
likely to undergo a supply crunch in the near future (see Exhibit 3), especially as startups and incumbents
scaled up EV production. The supply of nickel relied on global mining operations that had come under
scrutiny in the mid-2010s for local environmental effects. There were also geopolitical concerns with the EV
supply chain, especially the increased reliance on batteries made in China. In 2020, one Chinese company,
CATL, controlled 30% of the global EV battery market.12 This dynamic presented a wave of unrest among
U.S. consumers and regulators, who sought to confront China’s dominance in a number of key industries.
Lithium
Lithium was an essential metal in the cathode, offering the necessary components for the electrochemical
process to occur: a (+) Li-ion and a (-) electron. Although there were many different types of cathode
materials used in EV batteries, lithium was used in all options during the early 21st century, making it
the most critical resource for this application. The vast majority of lithium was mined from salty brine
deposits, primarily found in the so-called Lithium Triangle (Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina), as well as parts
of Australia, China, and Nevada (see Exhibit 4).13 An estimated 56% of all mined lithium was used in EV
batteries, accounting for 85,000 tons of worldwide annual production.14
The core criticisms of lithium production concerned water resources used in extraction and toxic
chemicals used in processing (e.g., sulfuric acid). Each ton of lithium required an estimated 500,000 gallons
of water, which, in South America, resulted in diversion away from farming communities and damaged crop
yields.15 In efforts to shore up lithium supply, mining companies such as Lithium Americas turned to U.S.
and Canadian reserves, which also faced considerable pushback from environmentalists. Protect Thacker
Pass, an activist group, established a blockade camp in the proposed open-pit mine site in Nevada, and
stated:
“EVs and lithium batteries will NOT bring down the country’s carbon footprint. It’s far
more likely they will expand the country’s carbon footprint manyfold. Many of us in the
environmental movement understand taking a mountain top off for coal is bad. Well,
taking a mountain apart for lithium is bad, as well.”16
Other groups across the globe, such as Free Tibet, an NGO based in London that advocated for Tibetan
independence from China, resisted the extraction of lithium at the expense of local communities and
ecosystems. The group cited Chinese exploitation of local resources that resulted in the death of fish and
other wildlife due to exposure to toxic chemicals.17
4
Cobalt
Cobalt was a critical raw material for most EV battery cathodes, usually in combination with nickel,
manganese, and/or aluminum. Cobalt represented about 6% of the nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery
cell mass and was the highest-cost input on a per ton basis (see Exhibit 5). Cobalt had long been used in
electronics, including lithium batteries, and an estimated 65% of global cobalt supply came from mines in
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).18 Small, artisanal mines there were cited for human rights abuses,
including slave labor, and gained much attention from both the electronics and EV industries. Critics have
dubbed cobalt “the blood diamond of batteries.”19
In 2019, International Rights Advocates filed a lawsuit on behalf of Congolese family members of
children who had been killed or injured in cobalt mines. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Tesla were all named
in the suit as being negligent related to supply chain management, resulting in child labor and death. The
companies denied wrongdoing based on limited visibility and control of overseas supply chains, despite
public commitments to sustainable sourcing practices.20
In efforts to reduce the need for cobalt from areas of conflict, automakers and battery manufacturers
explored different cathode chemistries that used less or no cobalt. The lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery
was a leading cobalt-free alternative, which could be produced at a lower cost compared to NMC models,
but did not perform as well in energy density and vehicle driving range.21 Cobalt presented a two-fold risk
to Tesla’s business: public/brand image associated with human rights violations, and a potential shortfall
in meeting future demand.
Nickel
Like cobalt, nickel was used as a cathode material and, like lithium, was linked to environmentally
harmful mining practices around the world. Greenpeace Research Laboratories stated:
“The mining of nickel-rich ores themselves, combined with their crushing and
transportation…can generate high loadings of dust in the air, dust that itself contains
high concentrations of potentially toxic metals. …We have to get smarter at recovering
and reusing the vast quantities that we have already extracted from the earth, rather than
relying on continued pursuit of new reserves of ever poorer quality and at substantial
environmental cost.”22
In 2017, the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources ordered the closure of 23
mines, citing concerns about the environmental impact on local populations. This announcement sparked
panic across the LIB supply chain, as the Philippines accounted for ~20% of nickel supply at the time.23
Waste Management Frameworks

One of the best-known frameworks of waste management was the 3Rs—reducing, reusing, and recycling
of materials. This framework was expanded to cover additional options and lifecycle stages, emphasizing
source reduction. For instance, the U.S. EPA developed the non-hazardous materials and waste management
hierarchy, with these four components in the order of the most to the least desirable: source reduction
& reuse, recycling/composting, energy recovery, and treatment/disposal (see Exhibit 6).24 The European
Commission proposed the Waste Framework Directive, which centered on a waste hierarchy that consisted
of five levels: prevention, preparing for reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal. Other key components of
the directive were the “polluter pays principle” and the “extended producer responsibility,” which required
the original waste producer to bear the cost of waste management.25 Given the automotive industry’s global
5
reach, such initiatives could prove costly for manufacturers as EV battery waste accumulated in the years
ahead.
End-of-Life Practices of LIBs in EVs

During the mid-2010s, the primary end-of-life (EoL) option for EV batteries was second-life use, which
created higher value than recycling for materials, and cost an estimated $1,800 to $30,000 per vehicle
battery.26 A number of EV manufacturers, such as Toyota and Volkswagen, started initiatives to repurpose
batteries for use in energy storage systems, which ranged from residential energy storage to grid-scale
systems. It was estimated that by 2018, the majority of installed capacity of second-life batteries occurred
in China, nearing 10,000 batteries and primarily from electric buses, while installed capacity in Europe and
North America fell below ~1,000 batteries and ~100 batteries, respectively.20 Tesla, on the other hand, had
an initiative to remanufacture batteries that reach EoL by disassembling the core and replacing parts to
achieve original specifications. Tesla had announced that it would remanufacture battery packs of Model 3
at module level, but it was possible, though not yet applied in industrial settings, to recover greater residual
value when remanufacturing at cell level. Simulations estimated that replacing 5% to 30% of cells could
restore the battery to 95% of its initial state of health.27 Studies placed the cost of second-life adaptation
at $3,500/battery for direct reuse, $6,700/battery when dismantled at module level, and $8,000/battery
when cell level was reached.28 Additional costs needed to be considered for remanufacturing, adaptation,
and logistics.
It was estimated that about 5% of EV Li-Ion batteries were recycled globally, with the remaining
95% finding their way to municipal waste facilities.29 There were two types of techniques to recycle LIBs:
pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, which were sometimes used in combination. In pyrometallurgy, battery
cells were mechanically shredded and burned at very high temperatures, and then metals in the residue were
recovered using various methods, such as further incineration. This technique did not require knowledge
of the battery’s design or composition, but consumed a large amount of energy. Hydrometallurgy involved
soaking battery materials in acid solutions to recover desired elements. This method could recover lithium
in addition to cobalt, nickel, and copper, but the greatest challenge was finding appropriate compounds
that dissolved specific metals while leaving others in solid form, and the chemicals used in the process
could pose a health risk.30,31 In the most optimistic scenario, these processes could recover about half of
the critical battery manufactured materials, and reduce up to 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. The cost
of recycling was highly sensitive to the number of batteries processed, but it was estimated that economic
returns of recycling LIB would stay relatively constant at about $5,600/battery after 2025.32
Upcoming Technologies for LIB Recycling and EV Batteries

Direct recycling, a technology researched at the U.S. Department of Energy-funded ReCell Center, left
the cathode mixture intact and therefore required minimal processing when manufactured into new batteries,
as shown in Exhibit 7. In direct recycling, battery cells were shredded and binders removed after electrolyte
was vacuumed away, and anode and cathode materials were separated in powder form using a flotation
technique. In 2021, the technique was successful only on single-cell batteries in lab settings, but could
become economically viable if scaled under the right conditions. One significant challenge was that cathode
metals from older models might not be useful for manufacturing upgraded batteries; another challenge
was efficiently disassembling batteries, which could be tackled by taking into consideration the recycling
process when designing the battery.25
The ReLiB project in the UK was studying new approaches to increase the efficiency and cost-
effectiveness of LIB recycling. For instance, the use of robotic procedures enhanced separation of battery
6
components, eliminating health risks to humans;25 a new method using ultrasonic waves had the potential
to replace shredding and recover more materials in purer states.33
Tesla
Tesla was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, as an EV-only car manufacturer, and
from the beginning based its vehicle design around LIB technology. In 2004, South African entrepreneur Elon
Musk invested $6.5 million in Tesla during its Series A financing round, becoming the majority shareholder,
and was subsequently appointed as chairman of the board, before eventually stepping in as CEO in 2008.
Musk’s goal was to build Tesla into a provider of affordable mass market EVs. He recognized there
were massive infrastructural, technological, supply chain, and market challenges to be overcome before
that vision became a reality. Therefore, Tesla’s first product was the Roadster, a premium sports car with a
retail price over $100,000. Originally released in 2006, the Roadster had a range of about 240 miles and a
0-to-60 acceleration of 3.7 seconds, which was significantly faster than most contemporary combustion-
engine sports cars in a similar price range.34 In 2012, Tesla launched the Model S sedan and Model X SUV,
and in 2017 it launched its mass market Model 3 sedan. Ultimately, Tesla delivered only 2,450 Roadsters
worldwide, and by the end of 2015 had delivered just over 100,000 Model S vehicles.35 The Model 3 had more
than 450,000 pre-orders, and demand for Tesla vehicle models began to far exceed supply. Manufacturing
challenges, especially for producing the crucial LIBs that powered Tesla vehicles, were a major reason for
Tesla’s inability to keep up with demand.
To address this, in 2016 Tesla unveiled its first Gigafactory, built outside Reno, Nevada. A technology
collaboration between Tesla and Panasonic, the facility was expected to be able to produce 500,000 EV
batteries annually, at a cost of more than $5 billion.36 Tesla opened a second Gigafactory in Shanghai in
2019, and announced construction of Gigafactory Texas in 2020.
In September 2021, Tesla announced that Gigafactory Nevada had produced its one-millionth battery
pack.37 Earlier, by 2018, many of the early production challenges had been solved, and deliveries had
significantly increased, totaling 500,000 in 2020 (see Exhibit 8). In October 2021, Tesla announced its
two-millionth vehicle sale,38 making it by far the leading producer of plug-in EVs, and accounting for 39%
of all EVs ever sold.
Since EV powerpacks had no moving parts, they were expected to last significantly longer than vehicles
with internal combustion engines. Tesla estimated that the original Model S batteries could last 200,000 to
400,000 miles before they degraded to 80% of their original capacity, while the newest Model 3 batteries
might last up to 500,000 miles, or 1,500 cycles of their full 330-mile capacity.39 However, Tesla drivers
were expected to drive a higher average of miles per year, with the top quintile of drivers averaging more
than 20,000 miles annually. This meant that 10-20% of all Teslas could be driven more than 200,000 miles
within 10 years, that by 2025 up to 10,000 Tesla battery packs could be in need of replacement and, due to
Tesla’s high sales growth, by 2030 that number could reach 50,000 battery replacements annually. In 2020,
Tesla committed to recycling 100% of all Tesla batteries sold, but at that time the global capacity for Li-ion
battery recycling was a tiny fraction of what would be needed by 2030.
Though Tesla began installing recycling capabilities within its facilities and recognized that bringing
recycling in-house would close the loop on material generation, there was still the obvious problem that
they were well short of being able to recycle all LIBs coming due. Working with third-parties was still
necessary for the time being, but there was also the opportunity to explore purchasing a recycling company.
7
Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing
By pioneering and bringing EVs into the public conversation, Tesla helped spur a global movement
toward sustainable vehicle production. But sustainability was more complicated than eliminating a
customer’s need to stop at a gas station.
Sustainable investing, known as ESG investing, was a nascent field that had not yet coalesced around a
single measurement system. The term ESG investing was coined in a 2005 report entitled “Who Cares Wins,”40
which was the result of a joint initiative of financial institutions which were invited by the United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan to “develop guidelines and recommendations on how to better integrate
environmental, social, and corporate governance issues.”41 Soon after, the United Nations Environmental
Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), a partnership with the global financial sector,42 produced a report
showing ESG’s relevance for financial valuation. These two reports provided the foundation for the New York
Stock Exchange launch of Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2006, and the Sustainable Stock
Exchange Initiative (SSEI) in 2007.43
Initially, institutional investors had been reluctant to embrace ESG investing, continuing to tout Milton
Friedman’s 1970 argument that “the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits”44 regardless of
its environmental or social impacts. Slowly, investors began to accept UNEP FI’s report (see Exhibit 9). In
2020, the CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced that “climate risk is investment
risk”45 in his annual letter to shareholders. In 2021, he acknowledged that disclosure “can be cumbersome’’
and announced his support for “moving to a single global standard”46 to enable investors to make informed
decisions on sustainability.
It is important to note the difference between sustainability standards and sustainability frameworks.
Frameworks provide guidance on how to structure and prepare information. Standards, on the other hand,
provide specific, detailed, and replicable requirements for what should be reported for each topic, including
metrics. Standards make frameworks actionable, ensuring comparable, consistent, and reliable disclosure.
Frameworks and standards are complementary and are designed to be used together.47
ESG Reporting Landscape
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

Founded by the nonprofits CERES and the Tellus Institute in 1997 in Boston following the Exxon
Valdez oil spill, GRI launched the first global framework for sustainability reporting in 2000.48 In 2016,
GRI pivoted from providing guidelines to standards, which enabled any organization, public or private, to
understand and report their impacts on the economy, environment, and people in a comparable, transparent
way.49 By 2021, GRI had produced both universal standards and 40 sector-specific standards in oil and gas,
coal, agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing, based on their significant environmental, social, and economic
impacts.50
MSCI
An American finance company founded in 1968 and headquartered in New York, MSCI was a leading
provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community.51 MSCI began
rating companies based on industry material ESG risks in 1999, and worked with over 1,700 clients to
integrate ESG considerations.52
8
Sustainalytics
Born from a merger between Jantzi Research and its European counterpart in 1992 and now a part of
Morningstar, Sustainalytics helped institutional investors identify, understand, and manage ESG risk and
opportunities.53 In 2021, Sustainalytics had over 1,000 clients who utilized a single market standard, which
provided a consistent approach to ESG assessments.54
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)

SASB was founded in 2011 as a nonprofit organization with a mission to develop a common language
about the financial impacts of sustainability. In 2021, SASB had 77 different sets of standards that were
industry-specific and had identified the minimal set of financially material sustainability topics and their
associated quantitative and qualitative metrics for a typical company within a given industry.55 SASB metrics
focused on five dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social capital, human capital, business model
and innovation, and leadership and governance. In 2021, SASB merged with the International Integrated
Reporting Council (IIRC) into the Value Reporting Foundation, a new nonprofit overseeing both.
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

Created in 2015 by the Financial Stability Board to coordinate company disclosures about climate
change,56 the TCFD consisted of 32 members from across the G20,ii representing both preparers and users
of financial disclosures.57 In 2017, TCFD released its first recommendation for climate-related financial
disclosure, structured around four themes: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.58
Between the release of the 2019 and 2020 status reports, TCFD reported that “the number of organizations
expressing support for the TCFD has grown more than 85%, reaching over 1,500 organizations globally,
including over 1,340 companies with a market capitalization of $12.6 trillion and financial institutions
responsible for assets of $150 trillion.”59
Tesla and ESG Ratings

ESG investing reached $40.5 trillion in 2020.60 While investor pressure had mounted, ESG ratings were
still confusing and complicated. Each framework and standard had different metrics and guidelines. Some
focused more heavily on environmental aspects, whereas others focused on social or governance; there was
varying emphasis on in-use versus end-of-life use impacts. Without a single global standard and framework,
companies such as Tesla were considered best-in-class sustainable companies by some measures and a
status quo car company by others. In 2018, The Wall Street Journal compared metrics from Sustainalytics,
FTSE, and MSCI for Tesla, Exxon Mobil, Berkshire Hathaway, Alphabet, and General Motors (see Exhibit 10).
MSCI gave Tesla a high score for the environment, while FTSE gave Tesla a “zero” score on the environment
because its scoring ignored emissions from cars, and instead focused on factories.61 Sustainalytics fell in
the middle. Through different methodologies and weights for social versus environmental, ESG ratings for a
single company varied widely. As measurements and frameworks coalesce, end-of-life management is likely
to be considered.
Companies Recycling Lithium-ion Batteries
Redwood Materials
In 2017, co-founder JB Straubel left after fifteen years as Tesla’s chief technical officer to establish
Redwood Materials, which “help[s] partners recycle batteries, electronics, and end-of-life products with
ii
G20 or Group of Twenty, is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France,
Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and
the United States) and the European Union.
9
environmentally-sound processing and refining technologies to produce key elements for circular supply
chains.”62 Inside three facilities in Carson City, Nevada, Redwood Materials averaged 95% recovery63 of
lithium, nickel, copper, gold, silver, cobalt, tin, palladium, tantalum, neodymium, and carbon64 from EVs,
grid/renewable storage, manufacturing waste, and consumer electronics.65 As of 2021, Redwood Materials
was valued at $3.78 billion and was not yet profitable.66
Li-Cycle
Li-Cycle was founded in 2016 by Ajay Kochhar and Tim Johnston as a closed-loop lithium-ion resource
recovery company. They built their first facility in Kingston, Ontario, to recycle 5,000 tons per year with plans
to expand into the United States and Asia.67 Using proprietary “Spoke & Hub Technologies”68 specifically
designed for lithium-ion battery recycling, Li-Cycle recovered over 95% of used batteries without sending
any production materials to a landfill.69 Additionally, Li-Cycle provided logistics management70 to transport
batteries to its factories. In October 2021, the company raised $1.6 billion in its second public offering on
the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LICY.71
Battery Recycling Moving Forward
As Teresa Maddux drafted a memo to Elon Musk, she reflected on the broad-ranging implications of her
recommendations. Will Tesla put sustainability at the forefront of its investment decisions? What will the
battery recycling landscape look like in the next decade? If Tesla leads the way, will its competitors follow?
As a leader in propelling the EV market forward, what level of responsibility should it take for the rippling
effects of lithium-ion batteries? What impact, if any, will these decisions have on Tesla’s ESG profile? She
is worried about how Musk, shareholders, and customers might respond, and wants her recommendations to
serve all stakeholders. What is Tesla’s best path forward?
10
Exhibits
Exhibit 1
LIB Battery Recycling Forecast, 2021-2030
Source: Willhun, Marian. “Lithium batteries: 1.2m tons ready for recycling by 2030.” PV Magazine, 4 Nov. 2019. https://www.pv-
magazine.com/2019/11/04/lithium-batteries-1-2m-tons-ready-for-recycling-by-2030/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
11
Exhibits (cont.)
Exhibit 2
Components of an EV Battery and Charge/Discharge Cycles
Source: Chapman, Becky. “How does a lithium-ion battery work?” Let’s Talk Science, 23 Sept. 2019. https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-
in-context/how-does-a-lithium-ion-battery-work. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
12
Exhibits (cont.)
Exhibit 3
Lithium and Cobalt Supply and Demand Forecast
Source: Hu, Tracy, et al. “Battery recycling efforts pick up as cobalt, lithium face potential deficit.” S&P Global Market Intelligence, 9 June 2021. https://www.spglobal.com/
marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/battery-recycling-efforts-pick-up-as-cobalt-lithium-face-potential-deficit-64847803. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
13
Exhibits (cont.)
Exhibit 4
Distribution of Global Lithium Reserves
Source: Gonzalez, Elizabeth. “Explainer: Latin America’s Lithium Triangle.” AS/COA, 17 Feb
2021. https://www.as-coa.org/articles/explainer-latin-americas-lithium-triangle. Accessed
29 Nov. 2021.
Exhibit 5
Costs of EV Battery Materials in a Chevrolet Bolt
Source: Hall, Dale, and Nic Lutsey. “Effects of battery manufacturing on electric vehicle life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions.” The
International Council on Clean Transportation, Feb. 2018. https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/EV-life-cycle-GHG_ICCT-
Briefing_09022018_vF.pdf. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
14
Exhibits (cont.)
Exhibit 6
EPA Framework to Reduce Waste
Source: “EPA Sustainable Materials Management.” U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency. https://www.epa.gov/smm/sustainable-materials-management-non-hazardous-
materials-and-waste-management-hierarchy.
15
Exhibits (cont.)
Exhibit 7
Battery Recycling Technology
Source: Morse, Ian. “A dead battery dilemma.” Science, vol. 372, no. 6544, 21 May 2021, pp. 780-783. DOI: 10.1126/science.372.6544.780.
16
Exhibits (cont.)
Exhibit 8
Annual Tesla Vehicle Sales, 2013-Q2 2021
Source: “Electric Vehicles Sales, Charts, Graphs, and Stats.” CleanTechnica. https://cleantechnica.com/ev-sales-charts-graphs-stats/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2021.
17
Exhibits (cont.)
Exhibit 9
The Rise of ESG Investing
Source: Kell, Georg. “The Remarkable Rise of ESG.” Forbes, 11 Jan. 2021. https://www.forbes.com/
sites/georgkell/2018/07/11/the-remarkable-rise-of-esg/?sh=760560d16951.
18
Exhibits (cont.)
Exhibit 10
Varying ESG Ratings for Companies
Source: Mackintosh, James. “Is Tesla or Exxon more sustainable? It depends whom you ask.” Wall Street
Journal, 17 Sept. 2018. https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-tesla-or-exxon-more-sustainable-it-depends-
whom-you-ask-1537199931.
19
Endnotes
1 Rocha, Jorge A. “Bolivia hints Tesla’s involvement in 2019 military coup.” Anadolu Agency, 24 Mar. 2021. https://www.aa.com.
tr/en/americas/bolivia-hints-teslas-involvement-in-2019-military-coup/2187164. Accessed 16 Feb. 2022.
2 “Tesla Impact Report 2020.” Tesla. https://www.tesla.com/ns_videos/2020-tesla-impact-report.pdf.
3 Wilson, Kevin. “Worth the Watt: A Brief History of the Electric Car, 1830 to Present.” Car and Driver, 15 Mar. 2018. https://www.
caranddriver.com/features/g15378765/worth-the-watt-a-brief-history-of-the-electric-car-1830-to-present/. Accessed 16 Feb.
2022.
4 Richardson, Jake. “38% of American Cars Were Electric in 1900.” CleanTechnica, 25 Feb. 2018. https://cleantechnica.
com/2018/02/25/38-percent-american-cars-electric-1900/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2022.
5 “History of Early Electric Cars.” GreenCars. https://www.greencars.com/guides/history-of-early-electric-cars. Accessed 16 Feb.
2022.
6 McFadden, Christopher. “A Brief History and Evolution of Electric Cars.” Interesting Engineering, 1 July 2020. https://
interestingengineering.com/a-brief-history-and-evolution-of-electric-cars. Accessed 16 Feb. 2022.
7 Lambrecht, Andrew. “The Simplified History of the Electric Car.” Inside EVs, 22 Nov. 2021. https://insideevs.com/
features/549726/electric-car-history/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2022.
8 White, Annie. “Here Are All the Promises Automakers Have Made about Electric Cars.” Car and Driver, 26 June 2021. https://www.
caranddriver.com/news/g35562831/ev-plans-automakers-timeline/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2022.
9 “Alternative Fuels Data Center.” U.S. Department of Energy. https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_basics_ev.html. Accessed
23 Feb. 2022.
10 “Press Release: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019.” NobelPrize.org, 9 Oct. 2019. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/
chemistry/2019/press-release/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
11 Chapman, Becky. “How does a lithium-ion battery work?” Let’s Talk Science, 23 Sept. 2019. https://letstalkscience.ca/
educational-resources/stem-in-context/how-does-a-lithium-ion-battery-work. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
12 Pattinson, Pete, and Febriana Firdaus. “‘Battery arms race’: How China has monopolised the electric vehicle industry.” The
Guardian, 25 Nov. 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/nov/25/battery-arms-race-how-china-has-
monopolised-the-electric-vehicle-industry. Accessed 16 Feb. 2022.
13 “Why Lithium?” Pure Energy Minerals. https://pureenergyminerals.com/overview/why-lithium/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
14 “Lithium Mining.” Volkswagen AG. https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/stories/2020/03/lithium-mining-what-you-should-
know-about-the-contentious-issue.html#. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
15 Katwala, Amit. “The spiralling environmental costs of our lithium battery addiction.” Wired Magazine, 8 Mar. 2018. https://www.
wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
16 Robson, Elisabeth. “Activists camp at Thacker Pass to prevent lithium mine from opening.” Protect Thacker Pass, 31 Mar. 2021.
https://www.protectthackerpass.org/activists-camp-at-thacker-pass-to-prevent-lithium-mine-from-opening/. Accessed 20 Mar.
2022.
17 “Lithium: Tibet’s Green Energy Treasure.” Free Tibet. https://freetibet.org/lithium-tibet. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
18 Lambert, Fred. “Breakdown of raw materials in Tesla’s batteries and possible bottlenecks.” Electrek, 1 Nov. 2016. https://electrek.
co/2016/11/01/breakdown-raw-materials-tesla-batteries-possible-bottleneck/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
19 Airhart, Ellen. “Alternatives to cobalt, the blood diamond of batteries.” Wired Magazine, 7 June 2018. https://www.wired.com/
story/alternatives-to-cobalt-the-blood-diamond-of-batteries/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
20 Kelly, Annie. “Apple and Google named in US lawsuit over Congolese child cobalt mining deaths.” The Guardian, 16 Dec. 2019.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/dec/16/apple-and-google-named-in-us-lawsuit-over-congolese-child-
cobalt-mining-deaths. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
21 Rudisuela, Ken. “Battle of the batteries - cost versus performance.” Nickel Institute, 10 June 2020. https://nickelinstitute.org/
blog/2020/june/battle-of-the-batteries-cost-versus-performance/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
22 Opray, Max. “Nickel mining: The hidden environmental cost of electric cars.” The Guardian, 24 Aug. 2017. https://www.
theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/aug/24/nickel-mining-hidden-environmental-cost-electric-cars-batteries. Accessed
22 Feb. 2022.
23 Dela Cruz, Enrico, and Manolo Serapio Jr. “Philippines to shut half of mines, mostly nickel, in environmental clampdown.”
Reuters, 1 Feb. 2017. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-mining-idUSKBN15H0BQ. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022.
24 “Sustainable Materials Management.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/smm/sustainable-materials-
management-non-hazardous-materials-and-waste-management-hierarchy. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022.
20
Endnotes (cont.)
25 “Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain
Directives.” European Union Law. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02008L0098-20180705.
Accessed 22 Feb. 2022.
26 Melin, Hans Eric. “The lithium-ion battery end-of-life market – A baseline study.” World Economic Forum. https://www3.weforum.
org/docs/GBA_EOL_baseline_Circular_Energy_Storage.pdf. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022.
27 Kampker, A., S. Wessel, F. Fiedler, et al. “Battery pack remanufacturing process up to cell level with sorting and repurposing of
battery cells.” Journal of Remanufacturing, vol. 11, 2021, pp. 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13243-020-00088-6.
28 Rallo, H., G. Benveniste, I. Gestoso, and B. Amante. “Economic analysis of the disassembling activities to the reuse of
electric vehicles Li-ion batteries.” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 159, 2020, 104785. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
resconrec.2020.104785.
29 Wollacott, Emma. “Electric cars: What will happen to all the dead batteries?” BBC News, 27 Apr. 2021. https://www.bbc.com/
news/business-56574779. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
30 Morse, Ian. “A dead battery dilemma.” Science, 20 May 2021. https://www.science.org/content/article/millions-electric-cars-are-
coming-what-happens-all-dead-batteries. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
31 Jacoby, Mitch. “It’s time to get serious about recycling lithium-ion batteries.” Chemical and Engineering News, vol. 97, no. 28, 14
July 2019. https://cen.acs.org/materials/energy-storage/time-serious-recycling-lithium/97/i28. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
32 Kotak, Y., C. Marchante Fernández, L. Canals Casals, B.S. Kotak, D. Koch, C. Geisbauer, L. Trilla, A. Gómez-Núñez, and H.-
G. Schweiger. “End of Electric Vehicle Batteries: Reuse vs. Recycle.” Energies, vol. 14, no. 8, 2021, p. 2217. https://doi.
org/10.3390/en14082217.
33 Chunhong, Lei, Iain Aldous, Jennifer M. Hartley, Dana L. Thompson, Sean Scott, Rowan Hanson, Paul A. Anderson, Emma
Kendrick, Rob Sommerville, Karl S. Ryder, and Andrew P. Abbott. “Lithium ion battery recycling using high-intensity
ultrasonication.” Green Chemistry, no. 13, 2021. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/gc/d1gc01623g. Accessed
23 Feb. 2022.
34 “Tesla Roadster 0-60 Times.” 0-60 Specs. https://www.0-60specs.com/tesla/roadster-0-60-times/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
35 “Tesla, Inc. Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2016.” EDGAR. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2016. https://
www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000156459017003118/tsla-10k_20161231.htm. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
36 Swanner, Nate. “Tesla’s Gigafactory to cost $5 billion.” Slashgear, 16 Jan. 2015. https://www.slashgear.com/teslas-nevada-
gigafactory-to-cost-5-billion-16365021/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2021.
37 Lambert, Fred. “Tesla Produces 1 Millionth Battery Pack at Gigafactory Nevada.” Electrek, 15 Sept. 2021. https://electrek.
co/2021/09/30/tesla-produces-1-millionth-battery-pack-gigafactory-nevada/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2021.
38 “Q3 Quarterly Update.” Tesla, Inc., 2021. https://ir.tesla.com/#tab-quarterly-disclosure. Accessed 4 Dec. 2021.
39 Brown, Mike. “Will Worn-out Batteries Send Tesla to the Scrap Heap?” Inverse, 21 Oct. 2021. https://www.inverse.com/
innovation/tesla-battery-life-replacement-cost. Accessed 4 Dec. 2021.
40 Kell, Georg. “The Remarkable Rise of ESG.” Forbes, 11 Jan. 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgkell/2018/07/11/the-
remarkable-rise-of-esg/?sh=760560d16951. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.
41 Who Cares Wins: Connecting financial markets to a changing world.” The Global Compact, June 2004. https://www.ifc.org/
wps/wcm/connect/topics_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/sustainability-at-ifc/publications/publications_report_
whocareswins__wci__1319579355342. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
42 “About US.” United Nations Environment Finance Initiative. www.unepfi.org/about/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.
43 Kell, Georg. “The Remarkable Rise of ESG.” Forbes, 11 Jan. 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgkell/2018/07/11/the-
remarkable-rise-of-esg/?sh=760560d16951. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.
44 Friedman, Milton. “A Friedman Doctrine: The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits.” New York Times, 13 Sept.
1970. www.nytimes.com/1970/09/13/archives/a-friedman-doctrine-the-social-responsibility-of-business-is-to.html. Accessed 1
Dec. 2021.
45 Fink, Larry. “Larry Fink’s Letter to CEOs.” BlackRock, 14 Jan. 2020. www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/2020-larry-
fink-ceo-letter. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.
46 Fink, Larry. “Larry Fink’s Letter to CEOs.” BlackRock, 26 Jan. 2021. https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-
relations/2021-larry-fink-ceo-letter. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.
47 “SASB Standards & Other ESG Frameworks.” Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. https://www.sasb.org/about/sasb-and-
other-esg-frameworks/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.
48 “Our mission and history.” Global Reporting Initiative. https://www.globalreporting.org/about-gri/mission-history/. Accessed 3
Dec. 2021.
21
Endnotes (cont.)
49 “How to use the GRI standards.” Global Reporting Initiative. https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
50 “Sector Program.” Global Reporting Initiative. https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/sector-program/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
51 “About Us.” MSCI. https://www.msci.com/who-we-are/about-us. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
52 “ESG Investing.” MSCI. https://www.msci.com/our-solutions/esg-investing. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
53 “Who We Are.” Sustainalytics. https://www.sustainalytics.com/about-us. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
54 “Who We Are.” Sustainalytics. https://www.sustainalytics.com/about-us. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
55 “SASB Standards” Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. https://www.sasb.org/standards/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
56 Reiff, Nathan. “Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).” Investopedia, 13 Sept. 2021. www.investopedia.com/
what-is-the-tcfd-task-force-on-climate-related-financial-disclosures-4771379. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.
57 “About.” Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/about/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.
58 “About.” Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/about/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.
59 “2020 Status Report.” Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. https://assets.bbhub.io/company/
sites/60/2020/09/2020-TCFD_Status-Report.pdf. Accessed 1 Dec. 2021.
60 Baker, Sophie. “Global ESG-Data Driven Assets Hit $40.5 Trillion.” Pensions & Investments, 2 July 2020. www.pionline.com/esg/
global-esg-data-driven-assets-hit-405-trillion. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
61 Mackintosh, James. “Is Tesla or Exxon More Sustainable? It Depends Whom You Ask.” Wall Street Journal, 17 Sept. 2018. www.
wsj.com/articles/is-tesla-or-exxon-more-sustainable-it-depends-whom-you-ask-1537199931. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
62 “Services.” Redwood Materials. https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/services. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
63 “Recycle With Us” Redwood Materials. https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/recyclewithus. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
64 “Elements.” Redwood Materials. https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/elements. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
65 “Services” Redwood Materials. https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/services. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
66 “PitchBook.” Redwood Materials. https://www.pitchbook.com. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
67 “About.” Li-Cycle. https://li-cycle.com/about/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
68 “Technology.” Li-Cycle. https://li-cycle.com/technology/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
69 “Services.” Li-Cycle. https://li-cycle.com/services/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
70 “Services.” Li-Cycle. https://li-cycle.com/services/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
71 “PitchBook.” Li-Cycle. https://www.pitchbook.com. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.
22
Notes
23
This case is part of the Erb Collection of sustainability cases at WDI Publishing.
The Erb Institute is a partnership between the Ross School of Business and the
School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. The
institute’s mission is to create a socially and environmentally sustainable world
through the power of business. We do that through research, teaching, and
business engagement—all focused on preparing and supporting bold business
leaders who can adeptly transform companies, industries, and entire economies
for systemic sustainability.
erb.umich.edu
Established at the University of Michigan in 1992, the William Davidson Institute

(WDI) is an independent, non-profit research and educational organization focused on
providing private-sector solutions in emerging markets. Through a unique structure
that integrates research, field-based collaborations, education/training, publishing,
and University of Michigan student opportunities, WDI creates long-term value for
academic institutions, partner organizations, and donor agencies active in emerging
markets. WDI also provides a forum for academics, policy makers, business leaders, and
development experts to enhance their understanding of these economies. WDI is one
of the few institutions of higher learning in the United States that is fully dedicated to
understanding, testing, and implementing actionable, private-sector business models
addressing the challenges and opportunities in emerging markets.

Tesla's Battery Supply Chain - A Growing Concern

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tesla's Battery Supply Chain - A Growing Concern

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

case W45C54

April 22, 2022