Tesla Pivots to Korea

Tesla is trying to rebuild its battery supply chain without Chinese materials, and do it fast. According to the latest reporting from Battery-Tech, Tesla is pushing Korean suppliers to ramp up silicon-rich anodes and other critical materials to replace China.

Re-engineering a supply chain under normal conditions is hard. Doing it in one or two years is possible if you are willing to pay the price. I’ve been through this a few times — localising supply chains for wind turbines, cathode materials, and evaluating localisation options for battery cells.

The reality is sobering:

* Our locally built wind turbine ended up costing more than double what a comparable one costs in China.

* For cathode materials, the delta was closer to 200×.

* For other components, after months of market study and supplier mapping, we realised we only had a fighting chance if we built 20+ GWh of battery capacity from the start.

Tesla is, of course, operating at a different scale. They can give suppliers better volume, certainty and payment terms — and therefore reach better prices. But even for Tesla, this shift will raise battery costs.

But it will improve resilience.

And resilience is exactly what is needed with the U.S. tariffs, China’s willingness to weaponise critical materials, and the very real prospect of a Taiwan crisis in the next two to three years. The “Taiwan factor” might explain Tesla’s aggressive timeline better than tariffs or trade frictions. Multiple analysts point out that the Chinese military will be capable of at least a blockade of Taiwan by 2027. The Chinese government has been very clear that it will not let the island remain independent indefinitely.

Outside China, only Korea offers a complete, reliable battery materials ecosystem today. No surprise Tesla is pivoting in that direction.

If you’re also rethinking your supply chain footprint and considering Korea as an alternative, I'd be happy to share what I’ve learned.