These two countries supply 81% of the world's lithium production capacity

Elon Musk, founder of global electric car maker Tesla Inc.
, has publicly called for greater investment in lithium mining to close what he sees as a huge gap
between supply and demand due to the adoption of electric vehicles.

Musk said that due to skyrocketing prices, the electric car giant may eventually choose to mine lithium
itself.
He first mentioned the plan
about two years ago.

With demand growth set to surge in the coming years, there is an urgent need for a
range of lithium commodities.
Although major producers such as Albemarle Corp.
are expanding capacity and building new projects, supply is not growing fast
enough due to a lack of investment after the boom-bust cycle in lithium in 2017-2019.

Currently, lithium production is concentrated in a few countries, with Chile and Australia accounting for 81%
of global production.
Fewer suppliers means a higher
risk of supply disruption.

While junior miners and startups are developing newer, more environmentally friendly lithium mining technologies, none of them have reached commercial scale, leaving car companies such as Tesla to rely entirely on traditional mining nations
like Chile and Australia.