Will Exxon Mobil Transition To Support EVs? In Talks With Tesla About Supplying Lithium

August 1, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Exxon Mobil is in talks with Tesla and other automakers to become a lithium supplier

The Carter Center

For years Elon Musk has been urging entrepreneurs to get into lithium mining. It appears someone was listening, but it's not a start-up. Exxon Mobil, the oil and gas giant and a name synonymous with the fossil fuel industry is reportedly engaged in early-stage discussions with Tesla and other automakers, including Ford and Volkswagen, to become a supplier of lithium.

Lithium is a key component in electric vehicle batteries. Tesla recently broke ground on its own lithium mining operation to address the critical element. Now that a major oil player is getting in the game, it signifies a significant shift in Exxon's strategic outlook as it embraces the inevitable transition towards more sustainable energy sources.

Harnessing Lithium: Exxon's Answer to EV Growth

A report from Bloomberg states that Exxon has been actively exploring the lithium business to diversify beyond fossil fuels. Its recent initiative involves the development of over 6,100 acres of lithium-rich land in Arkansas in partnership with Tetra Technologies Inc. The oil giant's strategic venture into the lithium sector underscores its commitment to securing the assets needed for EV battery production.

This move isn't merely a diversification strategy for Exxon; it presents a timely response to the meteoric rise of the EV sector. The increasing adoption of EVs has amplified the demand for lithium, posing a significant challenge to Exxon's core oil production and refining businesses. In turn, Exxon seeks to secure its position by harnessing a vital resource in this emerging market.

The company's entrance into the lithium market is not just about survival but also about leveraging its industry expertise for new business opportunities. Exxon has been considering extracting lithium from underground saltwater. This method aligns with the company's extensive experience in oil and gas extraction while also promising to be more cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

A Turning Point in the Energy Landscape

While the details of the discussions remain confidential, Exxon's engagement with Tesla and other automotive heavyweights signals a remarkable convergence of interests. By teaming up with major automakers, Exxon is positioning itself as a critical link between traditional and renewable energy sectors. This cooperation could foster a mutually beneficial relationship that bridges the gap between these diverse energy domains, encouraging knowledge sharing and expediting the adoption of sustainable practices.

Though Exxon has yet to announce whether it will independently undertake lithium production or seek partnerships, its ambitious goal of extracting 100,000 tons of lithium annually attests to its commitment to becoming a significant player in the lithium business. The corporation is also reportedly in talks with other lithium market participants, including Albemarle Corp, further emphasizing its intent to become a leading figure in the EV revolution.

Exxon Mobil's potential collaboration with Tesla and other automakers represents more than a strategic pivot; it is an emblematic turning point in the energy landscape, marking an era where traditional oil companies and EV manufacturers might work hand-in-hand to accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable future.

You Can Now Track Tesla’s Robotaxi Deployment

June 15, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Thanks to Tesla Yoda on X, we have found out that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet is registered on the Texas Department of Transportation’s public-facing Automated Vehicle Deployment website. This makes the fleet’s movements publicly viewable and trackable, and marks a first for Tesla.

This isn’t just any old FSD test - this is the first officially acknowledged, government-tracked, and sanctioned deployment of a Tesla Model Y operating as a ride-share vehicle. But that’s not all - Texas DOT’s tracker notes that the Tesla does not have a safety driver.

View on the Map

Visitors to the Texas DOT website can filter for “Tesla”, and see, currently, a single active vehicle operating in the Austin Metro area. According to the state’s official data, here’s what we know:

Company: Tesla

Description: Ride-share service

Status in Texas: Testing

Safety Driver: No

The final point is definitely the most significant here. While Tesla has been testing FSD with safety drivers for some time in Austin and LA for employee-only testing, this is the first time that a vehicle has been officially registered and deployed on public roads without a human behind the wheel for safety.

The fact that there is no safety driver officially shifts the liability from the occupant of the driver’s seat to Tesla, for the first time in a public setting. That’s already pretty significant - we previously dove into how Tesla plans to insure its own vehicles, and potentially owner vehicles in the Robotaxi fleets.

The status currently lists Tesla as “Testing,” confirming that the service isn’t available to the public, but this is expected to change in the coming weeks.

This testing phase is likely part of a short but crucial period that lets Tesla capture data on the safety levels of its current iteration of Unsupervised FSD without a driver supervising. Tesla already stated that they’d be avoiding difficult areas, so this testing can also expose additional areas Tesla may want to avoid, such as school zones or blind driveways.

Tesla will need to prove, both internally and externally, that FSD Unsupervised has the necessary performance to safely navigate the streets without any incidents.

Regulatory Milestone

For years, the concept of a Tesla Robotaxi has been a future promise. Now, it's a present-day reality, albeit in a testing capacity.

Having an official government body list a Tesla as an active, driverless vehicle shows that they’ve been able to clear regulatory hurdles, which Tesla has often pointed to as the issue. It demonstrates a level of confidence from both Tesla and Texas regulators in the system's capabilities.

While it's just a single vehicle for today, we’ll likely see this list slowly expand over time. Alongside being able to track Robotaxi incidents at the City of Austin’s website, we’ll be able to closely watch Tesla’s progress with its first Robotaxi deployments.

Tesla FSD in Europe: June Update

June 14, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

The road to bringing FSD to Europe has been a long and complex one and filled with regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles. Elon Musk, as well as other members of Tesla’s AI team, have previously voiced their grievances with the regulatory approval process on X.

However, it appears that there is finally some progress in getting things moving with recent changes to upcoming autonomy regulations, but the process still seems slow.

Waiting on the Dutch

Elon commented on X recently, stating that Tesla is waiting for approval from Dutch authorities and then the EU to start rolling out FSD in Europe. Tesla is focusing on acquiring approvals from the Dutch transportation authority, which will provide them with the platform they need to gain broader acceptance in Europe. Outside of the Netherlands, Tesla is also conducting testing in Norway, which provides a couple of avenues for them to obtain national-level approval.

The frustration has been ongoing, with multiple committee meetings bringing up autonomy regulation but always pulling back at the last second before approving anything. The last meeting on Regulation 157, which governs Automated Lane Keeping Systems, concluded with authorities from the UK and Spain requesting additional time to analyze the data before reaching a conclusion.

Tesla, as well as Elon, have motioned several times for owners to reach out to their elected representatives to move the process forward, as it seems that Tesla’s own efforts are being stymied.

This can seem odd, especially since Tesla has previously demoed FSD working exceptionally smoothly on European roads - and just did it again in Rome when they shared the video below on X.

FSD Supervised testing in Rome, Italy

Pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/TXh3uQIfrx
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) June 12, 2025

DCAS Phase 3

While the approval process has been slow, Kees Roelandschap pointed out that there may be a different regulatory step that could allow FSD to gain a foothold in Europe.

According to Kees, the European Commission is now taking a new approach to approving ADAS systems under the new DCAS Phase 3 regulations. The Commission is now seeking data from systems currently operational in the United States that can perform System-Initiated Maneuvers and don’t require hands-on intervention for every request.

This is key because those are two of the core functionalities that make FSD so usable, and it also means that there may not be a need to wait years for proper regulations to be written from scratch. Now, the Commission will be looking at real-world data based on existing, deployed technology, which could speed up the process immensely.

What This Means

This new, data-driven regulatory approach could be the path for Tesla to reach its previous target of September for European FSD. While the cogs of bureaucracy are ever slow, sometimes all it takes is a little data to have them turn a bit faster in this case.

Alongside specific countries granting approval for limited field testing with employees, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for FSD in Europe, and hopes are that a release will occur by the end of 2025. With Europe now looking to North America for how FSD is performing, Tesla’s Robotaxi results could also play a role.