According to Sawyer Merritt, Redwood Materials has officially started operations at its new $3.5 billion battery recycling facility in South Carolina, introducing a system capable of recovering 20,000 metric tons of critical minerals annually (source: Sawyer Merritt, Twitter). This development addresses the AI and electric vehicle (EV) sectors' urgent need for a stable supply of essential materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which are vital for manufacturing advanced batteries powering AI-driven applications and autonomous systems. The factory's launch represents a significant step toward strengthening the domestic supply chain, reducing reliance on foreign imports, and enhancing the sustainability of AI hardware and EV production in the United States (source: Sawyer Merritt, Twitter).

According to Sawyer Merritt on Twitter, Elon Musk stated that Tesla might need to establish its own large-scale chip fabrication facility to keep pace with its increasing demand for AI chips (Source: Sawyer Merritt, Twitter, Nov 6, 2025). This move highlights the escalating need for advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the AI sector, especially for supporting Tesla's AI-driven autonomous vehicles and robotics. Building an in-house chip fab could provide Tesla with greater control over its AI hardware supply chain, reduce dependency on third-party manufacturers, and accelerate innovation cycles. For the AI industry, this signals a significant trend toward vertical integration and could inspire other tech giants to invest in dedicated semiconductor infrastructure, creating new business opportunities in AI hardware, chip design, and manufacturing.