China's rare earth ban disrupts Musk's Tesla bot ambitions
China's decision to halt the export of magnets with heavy rare earth metals has affected Elon Musk's business, reports "The New York Times." This relates to the work on the Optimus robot, also known as the Tesla Bot.
Elon Musk revealed that China's blockade is impacting his plans to develop Optimus, a humanoid robot. It should be noted that Beijing suspended the export of some rare earth minerals and magnets in April, which are critical for the global automotive, aerospace, and semiconductor industries. China has decided it will issue licenses permitting the export of these crucial metals.
"China produces the entire world’s supply of heavy rare earth metals, from ore mined in China and Myanmar, and 90 percent of magnets made with these metals. Japan produces the rest of the magnets, but uses raw materials from China," reports "NYT." Rare earth magnets are crucial for Tesla's robots as they assist in preventing "malfunction and overheating" of electric motors. In the case of Optimus, these motors are located in the arms.
The trade war hits Musk
Elon Musk emphasized that supply chain issues are slowing down the production of robots. The billionaire and close associate of Donald Trump aims to create robots that will handle everyday tasks, such as serving drinks or unloading groceries from the car.
The export of rare earth metals to the United States may be halted for an extended period. Yang Jie, an export control lawyer at the Shanghai law firm Huiye, told "NYT" that Chinese regulations require the Ministry of Commerce to develop an export control protocol within 45 business days of its announcement, which occurred on April 4.
In Yang Jie's opinion, issuing export permits to the USA may take longer. This stems from the trade war initiated by Donald Trump. According to Yang Jie, the shortest possible time is six months, but in reality, this period may be much longer. This would be unwelcome news for Musk.
How are other producers of humanoid prototypes managing this situation? Jonathan Hurst from Agility Robotics explained that it is possible to reduce the number of magnets used, although the robot must be smaller.
In the first quarter of the year, Tesla recorded a profit of $409 million (568 CAD), a decrease of over 70 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Elon Musk announced that starting in May, he will reduce his activities in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
