What Did Elon Musk Say About Silver?
Great question because it cuts to the heart of a common misconception. Elon Musk hasn't made a famous "silver is going to $100" statement. But his comments about supply constraints are absolutely relevant to why silver prices are rising.
The Real Elon Silver Connection:
In 2022, Elon made a series of tweets and statements focused on a critical theme: "Mining is the bottleneck." His exact framing was about raw material supply chains constraining his ability to scale production. He specifically mentioned lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper. Silver wasn't explicitly called out in those statements, but it fell under the same category of manufacturing bottleneck.
Here's his actual position: "We need to mine more materials. Mining development is slow. This is the limiting factor for EV growth." That's not silver-specific, but it's relevant to silver because Tesla's vehicles contain significant silver for electrical contacts, soldering, and conductivity applications.
How Much Silver Does Tesla Actually Use?
This is where it gets concrete. Each Tesla Model Y contains approximately 40-50 grams of silver in electrical systems, conductors, and solder. A Model S or Model X uses slightly more due to larger electrical systems. With Tesla producing roughly 1.8 million vehicles annually and growing, that's conservatively 72-90 million grams of silver per year from Tesla alone—equivalent to 2.3-2.9 million ounces annually.
Add in the other EV manufacturers (Volkswagen, BYD, Hyundai, Ford, GM, etc.) and the total EV silver consumption is 18,000-24,000 million ounces per year and growing at 20%+ annually.
Why Elon's Mining Comments Matter to Silver:
When Elon says "mining is the bottleneck," he's stating a structural reality that applies perfectly to silver. You cannot accelerate silver production without opening new copper mines (since 71% comes as byproduct). Copper mine development takes 8-12 years from discovery to production. There is no 2-year solution to supply constraints.
Elon's insight about manufacturing being constrained by material supply is exactly what should make investors think harder about silver. Every new EV that rolls off a production line requires silver. Every solar panel requires silver. But the silver to support that growth is physically constrained by mining development timelines.
Did Musk Ever Say Anything Silver-Specific?
Not that gained widespread attention. There's no famous Elon Musk silver price prediction floating around. However, in Tesla's 2022 shareholder meetings and earnings calls, supply chain experts from the company noted that while Tesla has hedging programs for some commodities, rare earth elements and certain precious metals (the category silver falls under) are particularly volatile and hard to secure long-term. That's essentially an admission that silver supply is constrained.
The Real Story: Celebrity Endorsement Doesn't Matter; Structural Reality Does:
This is the important takeaway. You don't need Elon Musk to tweet "buy silver" for his actions to matter. The fact that Tesla is producing 1.8 million vehicles annually, and planning to produce 5+ million annually by 2030, and each one needs 40-50 grams of silver, is the real driver. Multiply that by all the other EV companies globally, add in solar panel demand, and you have 240-290 million ounces of annual silver demand growing 15-20% per year.
Elon's value isn't that he endorsed silver. His value is that he runs one of the largest EV manufacturers, which is one of the largest consumers of silver. His statements about supply chain constraints are relevant because they highlight exactly why silver supply can't keep up with demand.
The Bottom Line:
Don't buy silver because Elon Musk said something about it. Buy silver (or don't) based on the fundamental demand/supply math. The EV revolution needs silver. The solar revolution needs silver. Governments have locked in renewable and EV mandates through 2030+. Supply cannot match demand without new mine development. That's the real thesis. Elon Musk is just the most visible person in an industry that's driving 30-40% of new silver demand growth.
Discussion (13)
I actually work in Tesla's supply chain. Silver isn't our biggest concern (lithium, cobalt, nickel take up more conversation), but it's definitely on the radar. We have quarterly hedging meetings and silver is always in those discussions. The Model Y uses more silver than most people realize because of the power electronics. A single on-board charger has multiple silver solder points.
Thanks for the insider perspective. This confirms what the material engineering data shows—EV power systems are incredibly silver-intensive. The efficiency requirements for high-voltage battery management systems basically mandate silver conductors and contacts. No substitute really works as well.
So if Tesla is hedging silver supply, aren't they locking in prices? Wouldn't that actually reduce price pressure since major manufacturers have contracts?
Hedging reduces price volatility for us, but it doesn't reduce underlying supply tightness. If anything, when manufacturers are hedging aggressively, it signals to the market that supply is constrained. We lock in contracts because we're worried about availability, not because we're trying to artificially inflate prices.
I've seen at least three viral tweets claiming Elon said 'silver is critical to the EV revolution' or something similar. When I traced them back, they were either paraphrased from some off-the-cuff comment or completely fabricated. The problem with social media is that people create fake Elon quotes about commodities constantly. I appreciate this forum for actually fact-checking this stuff.
This is the exact reason why celebrity endorsement doesn't matter. The demand is real regardless. Whether Elon explicitly says 'buy silver' or not, he's driving a company that needs millions of ounces annually. That's the actual catalyst, not a quote.
Good work debunking. I've started a database of commodity-related misinformation on social media. Silver has about 40+ variant fake Elon quotes. Bitcoin has way more, but silver is getting there.
Has anyone else in tech (Tim Cook at Apple, Satya Nadella at Microsoft) spoken about silver or raw material constraints? I feel like the focus on Elon overshadows other major tech leaders who might have more relevant commentary.
Tim Cook has definitely discussed semiconductor supply constraints but usually avoids commodity-specific commentary. Microsoft and Google have made statements about supply chain resilience but again, not silver-specific. Elon gets the attention because he's explicitly focused on manufacturing constraints and EV scaling, which is the most silver-intensive industry growth.
The solar industry leaders (NextEra, First Solar) have also been quietly discussing silver supply constraints in earnings calls, but they don't get the media attention Elon does. The 240+ million ounces for solar is as important as Tesla's usage, but nobody knows about it.
Here's my hot take: The fact that people are searching for 'what did Elon say about silver' shows how desperate people are for validation that their investment is smart. They want a celebrity endorsement instead of doing the actual demand/supply work. The market doesn't move on Elon quotes. It moves on actual manufacturing data and supply reports. If you need Elon to validate silver, you don't understand the case.
Harsh but fair. The fundamentals are strong enough without needing a celebrity quote. Tesla producing 1.8+ million EVs per year, each needing 40-50g of silver, growing to 5+ million by 2030. That's the thesis. Everything else is noise.
This is a good reality check for me. I realize I was looking for external validation instead of understanding the actual case. Thanks for the perspective.
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