According to circles, the American electric car manufacturer Tesla is thinking of taking over the battery raw materials group Sigma Lithium. The car manufacturer of company boss and billionaire Elon Musk had spoken with possible consultants about an offer, the news Agency Bloomberg reported on Friday evening, citing informed persons.
In a major project in Brazil, Sigma Lithium intends to extract lithium, a required raw material for the current lithium-ion battery technology.
Lithium has become more expensive
Last year, the price of lithium had risen sharply. With the ramp-up of production of electric cars, especially in the second half of the decade, the raw material could become scarce.
The considerations were at an early stage and the project could also burst, it said. In addition, Sigma is only one option of Tesla to participate in sponsors.
Sigma Lithium is 46 percent owned by Brazilian financial investor A10 Investimentos, which is said to be considering selling its stake.
Tesla did not comment to Bloomberg on the information. Sigma Lithium's stock rose by about a quarter in after-hours U.S. trading. At the closing price in regular trading, the stock market value of the company was just under 3.1 billion US dollars (2.9 billion euros).