All Hell Breaks Loose for Tesla

I told you a while back that Elon Musk was scared to death that this cobalt story would start getting more attention.

Whether it was the chilling video of seven-year-olds working under horrific conditions in Congolese cobalt mines or the stark realization that these children help the DRC supply over half of the world's cobalt, things are going to break wide open sooner or later.

Nobody can keep a secret like this for very long.

And it appears the first cracks are forming...

Look, we've seen the flood of headlines gushing over electric vehicles.

And with Tesla dominating those news cycles, it's only natural to expect Elon Musk's competition to follow suit.

Well, it turns out that those competitors are going to steal a little thunder of their own...

A group of 10 major automakers, including Ford, Daimler, Toyota, Volvo, Honda, and a few others, have agreed to set up a Raw Materials Observatory.

The goal is simple: identify and resolve the issue of gaining their raw materials from conflict sources.

With only 2 million EVs on the road today, the problem is still relatively manageable.

But over the last year, it has become painfully clear just how critical cobalt will be to the world's growing appetite for electric vehicles.

And as you know, this demand extends far beyond Tesla, BYD, Volkswagen, and the rest of the major automakers with dreams of building a global electric fleet of vehicles.

We're also talking about the Apples and Samsungs of the world, too.

That's right, that means the smartphones in our pockets right now - all 2.4 billion of them!

By 2020, the number of smartphone users is expected to swell to 6.1 billion.

Again, this doesn't even include the massive growth ahead for electric vehicles.

You can probably guess what this kind of demand can do for prices, right?

Within the last 12 months, cobalt prices have more than doubled:

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Some of the smarter players are getting ahead of the game; Apple, for example, is already treating cobalt like a conflict mineral.

In fact, Apple and Samsung have both been hailed by Amnesty International for tackling their cobalt supply chain issues.

Now it's a matter of catch-up for the rest...

Tesla has pledged to source all of the materials for its Gigafactory-1 from North America.

That sounds great... until you dig a little deeper.

Keep in mind that roughly 60% of the world's current cobalt supply comes straight from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Did Elon Musk talk himself into a corner? We're not talking about promising to develop a Roadster that can hit 60 mph in 1.9 seconds...

At first glance, you'd think his only option would be to tap into Canada's nickel-mining operations. Remember, most of the world's cobalt is mined as a by-product of nickel or copper.

So you can understand why some investors are well ahead of the game.

Recently, I've mentioned a tiny, $1 cobalt stock that my readers have been riding higher due to surging demand.

The problem is that word is getting out, and the investment herd will soon be scrambling to uncover who is in the best position to take advantage of Musk's situation.

Trust me, they won't have to look far.

I strongly suggest you beat them to the punch and get the full story first... right here.

Until next time,

Keith Kohl

@KeithKohl1 on Twitter

A trueinsider in the energy markets, Keith is one of few financialreporters to have visited the Alberta oil sands. His research has helpedthousands of investors capitalize from the rapidly changing face ofenergy. Keith connects with hundreds of thousands of readers as theManaging Editor of Energy & Capital as well as Investment Director of Angel Publishing's Energy Investor. For years, Keith has been providing in-depth coverage of the Bakken, theHaynesville Shale, and the Marcellus natural gas formations - all ahead of the mainstream media. For more onKeith, go to his editor's page.