1 Louisiana Town is Set to Become Essential to Elon Musk’s Empire

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Elon Musk is on a roll right now.  The billionaire-head of SpaceX, Tesla, and The Boring Company just added another huge company to that list when he bought Twitter for an astounding $44 billion.  Now, a little shop in Vidalia, Louisiana has become a crucial part of Musk's growing empire.

It's no secret that Musk's companies are on the cutting edge of science and technology,  but to achieve that level of tech sophistication requires a steady supply of exotic materials.  Take Tesla, for example.  The all-electric car company officially started in 2003.  In 2004, when Musk took over as CEO, they were struggling to get off of the ground.  Obviously, things turned around in a big way. According to Backlinko, the company produces around 200,000 vehicles every 3 months now to keep up with the demand.

A report from NOLA.com has revealed that a shop in Vidalia, Louisiana has just inked a deal with the electric vehicle giant to supply with a crucial material for Tesla's massive batteries.  Syrah Technologies is an Australian mining company, and their facility in Vidalia processes the mineral graphite.  Graphite is essential to the production of the lithium-ion batteries that power everything in Tesla vehicles.

To satisfy Tesla's graphite-lust, the small shop in Vidalia acquired a $107 million federal loan last month to quadruple their output capability.  This move will create at least 36 jobs that pull in an average of $69,000 per year and create the U.S.'s first graphite processor that produces Active Anode Material - the key ingredient in EV batteries.