Telsa patents new method of lithium extraction using NaCl

Summary:

Lithium brines are the low hanging fruit but will eventually run out

Alternate sources like lithium clays are currently extracted using hot acids which also extracts undesirable minerals.

New method considered from first principles of physics using a cation (NaCl) and ball milling with the lithium clay for several hours results in an extract with a better mineral profile

New method expected to lower costs by 30%

(I should have put this in the submission but forgot)

When Musk says "nobody has done/thought of this before" he actually means "many people have thought of this before but didn't do it for reasons I ignored." (https://www.usgs.gov/energy-and-minerals/mineral-resources-p... literally the first search result)

EDIT: See also this research paper from 1985 exploring various methods of extracting lithium from clay, including using a non-acidic bath: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/10663/cdc_10663_DS1.pdf?down... which provides an even cheaper way to extract lithium from clay using baking soda.

Further, an important caveat for those buying Teslas for environmentally conscious reasons: this "new" method requires strip-mining areas of lithium-rich clay, which is significantly more environmentally damaging than the current method of extracting lithium from brine, and that is why nobody else currently extracts lithium from clay. Because it's still possible to mine lithium without destroying the f#$ out of the environment to save a few bucks.