Business tycoon Elon Musk and Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene had a virtual meeting on June 6 to explore prospective expansion in the copper-rich country.
For context, Mongolia is rich in resources such as rare earth metals and copper, which are critical in producing electric vehicle batteries.
Meeting highlights
According to a statement on behalf of the Mongolian government, the Tesla boss and Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai “exhanged views on cooperation.”
Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai also asked CEO Musk the following:
- Launch a joint research venture on rare earths and battery minerals
- Support the electric engine for large-scale mining applications
- Offer scholarship training program for Mongolia’s best IT engineers
“The Prime Minister and Musk also discussed a joint research venture on the use of rare earth elements and battery minerals, which are the main raw materials of Tesla’s products. These materials could also support the electric engine for large-scale mining materials and comes on the back of the commencement ceremony of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in March 2023. The two sides also discussed the establishment of a scholarship training programme for talented Mongolian engineers at Tesla.”
Mongolian Government statement
Apart from that, the two leaders apparently discussed a possible EV battery factory in the country, CNBC reports citing a statement from a Mongolian government representative.
“They discussed the possibility of welcoming Tesla to Mongolia for its electric vehicles battery factory, leveraging the country’s wide availability of copper and rare earth elements, which are essential components of electric cars’ batteries.”
Mongolian Government statement (via CNBC)
With all that initial conversations, the two also talked about CEO Musk’s possible visit to the country for further discussions.
“I would like to thank Elon Musk for a productive and insightful discussion today as a first step to explore opportunities for our mutual collaboration.
Our New Recovery Policy continues to set Mongolia on a path to prosperity as we work closely with the private sector on the use of our rare earth materials to create a greener planet.”
Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene
See Also:
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Considering Mongolia’s proximity to China, it would undoubtedly be an effective resource hub for the automaker. As we all know, China has evolved to be Tesla’s production hub.
