Since the outbreak of the war, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been open in solidarity with Ukraine and provided Internet help. But internal documents show that Tesla still does business with at least one Russian supplier.
Internal documents show that Tesla has purchased millions of euros worth of aluminum from Rusal. Rusal was founded by the sanctioned Russian oligarch, aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska. Rusal was once sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, but those sanctions were lifted by the former president in 2019. Tesla only started sourcing aluminum from Rusal in late 2020.
Tesla bought aluminum from Rusal for casting parts at its new car assembly plant outside Berlin, according to invoices, internal communications and information from several current and former employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The aluminum can be used in the casting and body shell of the Tesla Model Y and is already being used in production on a new production line at the Tesla factory in Brandenburg, Germany.
Tesla’s Berlin plant is not yet fully operational but has recently received conditional approval to begin commercial production soon. There is no indication that Tesla is using Rusal’s aluminum in U.S. production.
It’s not unusual for Tesla to be willing to work with at least one Russian supplier. The world’s top 10 automakers all buy from at least one Russian tier-one supplier, according to Intros, a U.S.-based global supply chain and risk management research firm.
However, Moscow’s war on Ukraine has called this supplier relationship into question and forced companies to ask themselves whether they can legally and ethically continue to pay these suppliers millions of euros for keeping Russia and leading them off the president’s cronies to get rich. Inflation could influence those decisions — Musk acknowledged late Sunday that the company is facing huge inflationary pressures on raw material costs.
It is unclear how much Tesla paid Rusal for the metal. Tesla did not comment when asked if it was taking steps to cut off business ties with Rusal or other Russian companies.