Tesla warns Core Lithium of potential lawsuit over failed deal (updated)

Core Lithium

17/08/2023 18:11

(Adds background on Tesla, Liontown Resources deal in last
paragraph)
       Aug 17 (Reuters) - Core Lithium  CXO.AX  has received a
notice from electric-vehicle maker Tesla  TSLA.O  over a 2022
supply agreement that failed to materialize within the set
deadline, the Australian miner said.
    The two companies failed to reach a deal by Oct. 26, 2022,
as decided earlier, and now Tesla would take "all available
legal remedies" unless the parties mutually resolve the matter,
Core lithium said in a presentation on Wednesday. 
    The notice of a potential legal claim is related to a
binding term sheet the companies signed in March last year to
negotiate the terms of a supply agreement under which Elon
Musk-led Tesla would have received spodumene, a lithium-rich
mineral.
    Tesla and Core Lithium did not respond to Reuters' requests
for comments. 
    The lithium producer was negotiating with Tesla to supply
110,000 tonnes of spodumene from its Finniss project in
Australia's Northern Territory.
    Rising demand for electric vehicles around the world is
encouraging automakers ranging from General Motors  GM.N  to
Stellantis  STLAM.MI  to Ford  F.N  to step up efforts to secure
raw materials needed for making batteries.
    Tesla in 2022 signed a five-year lithium-supply deal with
Australia's Liontown Resources  LTR.AX  to buy 100,000 dry
metric tonnes (DMT) of the concentrate in the first year
starting 2024, increasing to 150,000 DMT per year in subsequent
years.

 (Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli)
 ((Sourasis.Bose@thomsonreuters.com;))