Pittsburgh is a Top Market for Tesla. Uber's Partnership w/ Tesla. Best way to invest in ESG.

by Oskar Petersen & BARD

Introduction

One of Tesla's top markets is Pittsburgh. This article aims to review the fascinating history and irony and then finally discuss that the best way to invest in Tesla is not Tesla stock but a better stock that captures all the metals needed for battery metals. This means you are not just investing in electric vehicles but the total electrification of our world today (solar, wind, AI, robotics, and EVs) all in one stock.

So let us connect the dots between the advent of Electricity, its connection to Tesla, Tesla's connection to Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh's connection to Uber, and most importantly, how to invest surrounding the electrification of society at large. Here are the four presenting and interconnected facts:

1 . Electricity, as we use it today, was invented in Pittsburgh by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse

2. Pittsburgh is one of the fastest growing markets for Tesla EVs (Elon Musk's car company)

3. Uber the leader in ride-share is partnering with Tesla the leader in EVs.

4. Tesla is not the best stock to invest in electric cars (but an under the radar small cap company called Electric Royalties is our top pick)

History Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse worked together to develop alternating current (AC) power technology. Tesla had developed a number of patents for AC motors and transformers, and he believed that AC was the future of electricity. Westinghouse, on the other hand, was a businessman who saw the potential of AC power to revolutionize the electric industry.

In 1888, Westinghouse purchased Tesla's patents for $60,000. He then used Tesla's designs to build a number of AC power plants and distribution systems. In 1893, Westinghouse's AC power was used to light the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This was a major victory for AC power, and it helped to establish Westinghouse as the leading supplier of electric power in the United States.

Tesla and Westinghouse's work together helped to make AC power the dominant form of electricity in the world. AC power is more efficient and safer than direct current (DC) power, and it is easier to transmit over long distances. As a result, AC power is used to power homes, businesses, and industries all over the world.

The collaboration between Tesla and Westinghouse is considered to be one of the most important events in the history of electricity. It helped to usher in a new era of innovation and progress, and it made it possible for people all over the world to enjoy the benefits of electricity.

Here are some additional details about Tesla and Westinghouse's work together:

• Tesla's AC motors were more efficient than DC motors, which meant that they could generate more power with less energy.

• Tesla's transformers made it possible to transmit AC power over long distances, which opened up new possibilities for the use of electricity.

• Westinghouse's business acumen and financial resources helped to make Tesla's inventions a reality.

• The collaboration between Tesla and Westinghouse helped to create the modern electric grid, which is essential for our modern way of life.

The work of Tesla and Westinghouse had a profound impact on the world. They helped to make electricity more efficient, safer, and accessible. As a result, they played a major role in shaping the modern world.

Uber partnership with Tesla in Pittsburgh In October 2021, Uber and Tesla announced a partnership that would allow Uber drivers in Pittsburgh to rent Tesla vehicles. The partnership is part of Uber's goal of becoming a zero-emissions platform by 2040.

Under the partnership, Uber drivers in Pittsburgh can rent a Tesla Model 3 for $334 per week. The rental includes insurance, maintenance, and unlimited Supercharging. Drivers can also earn an extra $1 per ride for using a Tesla.

The partnership is currently available to Uber drivers in Pittsburgh who have a 4.8 or higher rating and have completed at least 100 rides. Drivers must also pass a background check and have a valid driver's license.

The partnership has been met with mixed reactions. Some drivers have praised the opportunity to drive a Tesla, while others have criticized the high rental price. Uber has defended the rental price, saying that it is comparable to the cost of renting other luxury vehicles.

What neighborhoods in Pittsburgh have the most Teslas?

In some of these markets the numbers have tripled year over year! According to a 2022 report by Tesla the top 5 townships in Pittsburgh where the most Teslas are sold are:

1. Oakmont

2. Sewickley

3. Fox Chapel

4. Mt. Lebanon

5. Upper St. Clair

These townships are all located in Allegheny County, which is home to the city of Pittsburgh. They are all affluent communities with a high median income. They are also all located close to the city, which makes them attractive to Tesla owners who want to be able to easily commute to work or run errands.

The report also found that the most popular Tesla model sold in Pittsburgh is the Model 3. The Model 3 is a relatively affordable Tesla model that is also known for its long range and excellent performance. It is a popular choice for both city dwellers and suburbanites.

The popularity of Teslas in Pittsburgh is a sign of the growing popularity of electric vehicles in the United States. As more and more people become aware of the benefits of electric vehicles, we can expect to see even more Teslas on the road in the years to come.

Tesla stock has been abysmal in past 18 months (TSLA down over 90% in past 18 months) so the question on the table goes, is there a better investment strategy than TSLA to monetize ESG or be first in line ahead of the global stampede into renewable investment strategies?

YES THERE IS!

Every single time in history whenever there is a an energy transition a new class of wealth is created. My grandfather Forrest Allen Little worked for Firestone from 1930 to 1945. Wood oven stoves were being replaced by gas stoves. Forrest Little would set up a "demo" stove in every major market and allow the town gossip or "busy bee" to have the model on loan. Word would circulate through the town that "Alice Walker" or "Nancy Watkins" had a fancy new gas stove then all the house-wives wanted one. Throughout history when the steam iron horse was replaced by coal burning locomotives. When coal furnaces were replaced by oil by gas, etc. Every energy transition yields extraordinary investment opportunities but you have to be positioned early.

The One-Stop Shop for Harnessing the Profit Potential of Battery Metals

Electric Royalties Ltd. (Ticker Symbol ELECF in the U.S. and ELEC in Canada) because it appears highly undervalued and is also a one-stop shop to get exposure to a significant and growing trend.

Electric Royalties is the only public company with exposure to the nine essential metals (lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel, tin, graphite, manganese, zinc, and vanadium) necessary for the electrification of the world economy.

We believe Electric Royalties is a sleeper company that has been totally missed by the public markets so far, having put together a portfolio of royalty assets that, if it were a private company, would be commanding a huge premium to its current, publicly traded valuation.

At the outset, let’s review why we like the royalty model so much -- and why even a small company like Electric Royalties is substantially more diversified than other types of companies of its size.

A royalty company's role – once royalty rights are secured, and the operating mine digs up the metals – is to collect royalty checks on behalf of its shareholders.

Such companies do not actually own stock in the mining companies it invests in. Instead, they own a deeded interest in the very metal deposit itself and the right to cash flow a mine produces over time. They do not own mines, lease mining equipment, or employ miners. Consequently, they do not bear the high inflation or energy costs involved in operating a mine. Nor are they on the hook for additional capital to build or run any mine, and they don’t have to contend with political or environmental challenges like the actual mine operators so often do.

That's why royalty companies have generally outperformed investments made directly in the shares of operating mining companies, exploration companies, or the underlying commodities associated with them. As a result, there also tends to be less volatility and risk in holding royalty company shares.

The royalty model proved itself in the precious metals sector (gold, silver, etc.) starting in the 1980s. But interestingly, royalties have barely been "a thing" with respect to other metals… until now.

Electric Royalties is now applying this same time-tested royalty model in mining nine metals – lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel, tin, graphite, manganese, zinc, and vanadium – that are absolutely essential to the electrification of the global economy.

Yes, silver is also part of this investment theme, but Electric Royalties deliberately does not target silver because there is so much competition for silver royalties, making it harder to acquire them cheaply.

Investors have an opportunity to position now, before the stampeding herd.

Electric Royalties Ltd. (Ticker Symbol ELECF in the U.S. and ELEC in Canada) has a simple approach to its nine target metals:

1. The company raises and invests capital in providing essential funding for well-managed mining projects in politically stable, mineral-rich regions.

2. In exchange for this funding, Electric Royalties secures deeded interests to a percentage of the metals in the ground. Royalties are paid when metals are extracted and brought to market. These royalties are paid to Electric Royalties for the life of the mine, typically decades.

3. Electric Royalties does not assume the liabilities and risks associated with traditional mining operations – administrative, environmental, political, payroll, transportation, smelting, etc.

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Take lithium, for example. It's just 1 of the 9 metals on Electric Royalties’ target list (although the company's existing portfolio is about 35% lithium). The lithium supply / demand scenario is similar to that of most of these metals.

Lithium facts:

• The cost of lithium has risen from $6,000 per tonne in 2020 to $78,032 per tonne in 2022, a 13-fold increase in less than two years.

• Lithium demand is expected to rise from 500,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in 2021 to somewhere between three million and four million tonnes in 2030.

• Demand for Lithium is projected to grow ~x 40 by 2040.

Brendan Yurik, CEO of Electric Royalties, commented “Electric Royalties Ltd is an investment opportunity to get exposure to the global transition to clean energy via the essential building blocks required to make it happen. As a royalty company, we also have a significantly reduced risk profile as we are already diversified across 20 assets and 9 different clean energy metal commodities -- all with exponential growth forecasts.

“We have one producing royalty in the portfolio already and others expected to start producing soon. So, it is an exciting time right now, and we think 2023 will be transformational for the company.

“Five years ago, the clean energy metals sector practically didn’t exist, over the next twenty years the clean energy metals sector could potentially eclipse the existing oil and gas sector which is 4x to 5x the traditional mining sector. We feel the growth opportunity is almost unbelievable, and we are eager to keep acquiring rights to cash flow on these ‘oil fields of the future’ -- and to keep pressing our first-mover advantage in the space.”

Within Electric Royalties' current portfolio of 20 royalties, there is currently one producing (Middle Tennessee Zinc Mine) and 6 more expected to start producing within the next few years. The company is expected to be receiving at least $10 million in annual royalty payments by 2026. That assumes no additional royalties are acquired, and it also assumes the prices of these battery metals are lower than they are today – not substantially higher like we expect.

Using a standard Net Present Value (NPV) analysis in connection with Electric Royalties’ conservatively expected cash flow in the not-too-distant future, the company’s current market capitalization of less than $25 million represents a dramatic undervaluation below Fair Value -- and thus makes the company a compelling investment opportunity for our subscribers.

The investment case is even more compelling if you compare Electric Royalties’ assets to those held by Nova Royalty, a copper-nickel focused company.

At present, however, Nova Royalty’s market capitalization is still well over $100 million, roughly five times that of Electric Royalties. Yet the latter may actually have the more valuable portfolio of the two companies, with greater cash flow potential. Thus, if Nova Royalty shares are a compelling value at present, then Electric Royalties shares are ridiculously cheap.

It's also worth noting that over $400 million has been raised over the past 18 months to develop the underlying assets in Electric Royalties portfolio of 20 assets, all at no cost to Electric Royalties. Accordingly, many of these projects are moving forward quickly.

Not including a producing tin royalty (the purchase of which the company is expecting to finalize in January), here's a summary of Electric Royalty’s one currently producing royalty along with six others expected to begin production (and thus making royalty payments) within the next few years:

Middle Tennessee Zinc Mine -- This is a sliding scale Guaranteed Minimum Royalty (GMR) whenever zinc prices are above US$0.90/lb. Mine located in the United States and operated by Nyrstar / Trafigura. Option to double this royalty. Currently in production.

Authier Lithium -- This is a 0.5% GMR. Located in Canada and operated by Sayona Mining. Expected to enter production in Q1 2023.

Graphmada Graphite -- This is a 2.5% Net Smelter Royalty (NSR) up to $5 million in total royalties paid. Located in Madagascar and operated by Greenwing Resources. Expected to come online during 2023.

Bissett Creek Graphite -- This is a 1% Gross Revenue Royalty (GRR). Located in Canada and operated by Northern Graphite. Expected 2025 start.

Zonia Copper -- This is a 0.5% GRR with an option to add an additional 0.5% GRR. Located in the United States and operated by World Copper. Expected 2026 start.

Battery Hill Manganese -- This is a 2% GMR. Located in Canada and operated by Manganese X Energy Corp. Expected 2026 start.

Mont Sorcier Vanadium -- This is a 1% GMR. Located in Canada and operated by Voyager Metals. Expected 2026 start.

The transition to Net Zero is happening, and it's happening fast.

In 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published its Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector report, which sets out an ambitious pathway for the global energy sector to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Like it or not, most of the G20 are adopting large swaths of

these IEA initiatives. Even global energy companies are jumping on the electric bandwagon.

BP's CEO Bernard Looney sees the IEA’s report as well aligned with their decarbonization strategies. Looney said such a target "in many ways is consistent with what we're doing with the company."

Looney noted BP's plans to reduce oil and gas production by 40% in the next decade and they are busy re-arranging their business goals and strategy to profit from this transition to Net Zero.

As reported recently in numerous precious metals publications here is how much metal is needed to comply with IEA standards…

For Copper, 6,700 million tonnes are needed. In 2019, 20.4 million tonnes of Copper were produced. So it would take 328 years (using 2019 Copper production numbers as a baseline) to reach the required Copper amount needed to phase out fossil fuels.

For Nickel, 1,352 million tonnes are needed. In 2019, 2.61 million tonnes of Nickel were produced. So it would take 518 years (using 2019 Nickel production numbers as a baseline) to reach the required Nickel amount needed to phase out fossil fuels.

For Lithium, 1,386 million tonnes are needed. In 2019, 0.086 million tonnes of Lithium were produced. So it would take 16,121 years (using 2019 Lithium production numbers as a baseline) to reach the required Lithium amount needed to phase out fossil fuels.

For Cobalt, 319 million tonnes are needed. In 2019, 0.144 million tonnes of Cobalt were produced. So it would take 2,213 years (using 2019 Cobalt production numbers as a baseline) to reach the required Cobalt amount needed to phase out fossil fuels.

For Graphite, 13,217 million tonnes are needed. In 2019, 1.1 million tonnes of Graphite were produced. So it would take 12,015 years (using 2019 Graphite production numbers as a baseline) to reach the required Graphite amount needed to phase out fossil fuels.

For Silver, 3.2 million tonnes are needed. In 2019, 0.0265 million tonnes of Silver were produced. So it would take 121 years (using 2019 Silver production numbers as a baseline) to reach the required Silver amount needed to phase out fossil fuels.

When it comes to electrifying our vehicles, homes and power grids,

the situation is super simple to dissect. These three points say it all:

• Global mine supply is on a downtrend.

• Global industrial demand for metals is on an uptrend.

• Just like the move in lithium (13-fold increase) you have to be positioned before the stampeding herd gets there.

We believe Electric Royalties (ELEC & ELECF) is an extremely compelling investment opportunity at present, and it is also a simple, focused way to get exposure to the full suite of metals involved in the battery / electrification trend.