Model Y Battery and Car production Natural Resources

[GBMaryland]

Folks, I saw this post on another form, where there are a lot of people who are super conservative, and really dislike EVs.

I’m looking for a counter list on what it takes to produce the typical ICE vehicle (probably a midsized sedan) by comparison.

Don’t get me wrong, I am fairly certain Tesla vehicle of any type is not an actual carbon neutral kind of deal unless you drive it for a long time… but I sort of consider their argument to be not perfect.

Here’s part of the original post on Twitter/X]

”
To manufacture it you need:
--12 tons of rock for Lithium (can also be
extracted from sea water)
-- 5 tons of cobalt minerals (Most cobalt is made
as a byproduct of the processing of copper
and nickel ores. It is the most difficult material
to obtain for a battery and the most
expensive.)
-- 3 tons nickel ore
-- 12 tons of copper ore

You must move 250 tons of soil to obtain:
-- 26.5 pounds of Lithium
-- 30 pounds of nickel
-- 48.5 pounds of manganese
-- 15 pounds of cobalt

To manufacture the battery also requires:
-- 441 pounds of aluminum, steel and/or plastic
-- 112 pounds of graphite

The Caterpillar 994A is used for the earthmoving to obtain the essential minerals. It consumes 264 gallons of diesel in 12 hours.

Finally you get a “zero emissions” car.

Presently, the bulk of the necessary minerals for manufacturing the batteries come from China or Africa. Much of the labor for getting the minerals in Africa is done by children! If we buy electric cars, it's China who profits most!

BTW, this 2021 Tesla Model Y OEM battery (the cheapest Tesla battery) is currently for sale on the Internet for $4,999 not including shipping or installation. The battery weighs 1,000 pounds (you can imagine the shipping cost). The cost of Tesla batteries is:

Model 3 -- $14,000+ (Car MSRP $38,990)
Model Y -- $5,000–$5,500 (Car MSRP $47,740)
Model S -- $13,000–$20,000 (Car MSRP $74,990)
Model X -- $13,000+ (Car MSRP $79,990)

It takes SEVEN years for an electric car to reach net-zero CO2. The life expectancy of the batteries is 10 years (average). Only in the last three years do you begin to reduce your carbon footprint. Then the batteries have to be replaced and you lose all the gains you made in those three years.

The truth is far better than the fiction we are all being told !”

Note the quotes…

Can anyone help me with some sort of ICE equivalent research?

 

[ucmndd]

Don’t waste your time arguing with idiots.

There are countless reputable studies that show EVs to be superior from a lifetime emissions perspective even with the dirtiest sources of electricity. Pick one or more of them already out there vs. trying to put together your own.

Going tit for that with people that have no intention of engaging in good faith is a fool’s errand.

 

[GBMaryland]

Thanks for that.

I just found it really weird that a quick search didn’t yield anything as comprehensive as that post, re:ICE.

One would think that an average midsize sedan would have a crazy list of materials… much of it plastic… along with the addition of the factor continues to burn fossil fuels, adding to the carbon footprint.

… and that there would be a really good list of all the common things that you tend to find in a motor vehicle when you build it.

 

[ucmndd]

I think you could probably find such things. Or what goes into the extraction and refining of endless amounts of fossil fuels to power such a thing once it’s built.

Once that oil is burned it’s gone forever. Lithium and other battery minerals are infinitely recyclable once they’re out of the ground.

But again, who ever wrote that thing isn’t looking for productive engagement or education. They’re not acting in good faith.

 

[GBMaryland]

Yeah, I mean that’s absolutely true… a lot of folks just dislike the idea of EVs because they are being mandated in certain states… and sensitive people are being told what to do nothing any of us say about EVs are going to make them OK.