July 20, 2018—Panasonic Corp said it was unable to determine how much of cobalt used in batteries it makes for Tesla cars comes from Cuba, a country subject to U.S. sanctions, reported Reuters.
As a result of concerns, Panasonic has suspended relations with a Canadian supplier, according to the report.
Two sources told Reuters that some of the cobalt that Panasonic uses to make Tesla's batteries is mined in Cuba by Canadian supplier Sherritt International Corp. Panasonic had used cobalt from the supplier for batteries used in the Tesla Model S and Model X but only after February this year.
Tesla, when asked for comment by Reuters, did not address questions about whether its batteries contained Cuban cobalt or whether that could potentially put the company in breach of sanctions.
A spokesman said: “Tesla is aiming to achieve close to zero usage of cobalt in the near future.”
