the democratic republic of the congo is at the heart of the electric car revolution. nearly two thirds of the world's cobalt is mined here. it's a metal used in batteries in electric vehicles. and the town of kolwezi sits on the richest seam. congo is one of the most biggest producers of cobalt. kolwezi is where the most mineral is, so that is why they call it kolwezi — it is the capital of cobalt. it has very specific physical properties that make it uniquely suited for batteries, in particular. and?it's only recently now, with our drive towards decarbonisation, where all of a sudden, now it is a critical commodity. every car manufacturer is going to want this ? this metal. if they're going to make an electric car, or a hybrid car, they're going to want cobalt. kolwezi should be a wealthy town, but a legacy of political corruption in the mining industry means few have profited from the cobalt boom. when you come here in kolwezi and try to see the people - living in the community - where cobalt is coming from, you are surprised _ because there's abject poverty. children do not have access to school. - sometimes, there's no drinking water. i and also, electricityl is not there for some of the communities. there are big commercial mines here. but up to 30% of the cobalt is dug by hand in artisanal mines. it gets mixed into the supply chain and is impossible to trace. experts say that none of the electric carmakers can be sure they haven't used cobalt from mines like this one. the people who are working here, really, they don't have much choice. if they want to make money, they've got to come down here. and this picture, you will find this all across kolwezi in different spots. kolwezi is also home to the electric car industry's fiercest critics. the nuns of the sisters of the good shepherd. i am sisterjane wainoi. my name is sister mary kisulu. my name is sister anuaritjolie. i'm sister flora. i'm working in the finance department. i'm sister cecilia, - working with the children. i'm sisterjusticia, working as programme operations manager. this order of nuns know the car industry depends on the cobalt mined in their community. ah, i can see you! how are you? very good! now they want the world to know the human cost of an electric car battery. in kolwezi, you find poverty is a lot, and many people are suffering because the minerals which are there, they are not helping the people of kolwezi. the nuns worry the race for cobalt is taking too big a toll, and that problems at the bottom of our electric car revolution are ignored by those at the very top. kolwezi, yes, it's the capital for cobalt, but the people are suffering. they are suffering, really suffering. all the big car companies need cobalt. sales of electric cars could reach a0 million a year by the end of the decade. it's a green revolution that promises to help combat global warming. every single automobile giant is fighting for supremacy in this new world order. make electric cars. dominate the market. save the planet. easy. leading the challenge is controversial and colourful multi—billionaire elon musk. ladies and gentlemen, elon musk! _ musk is an innovator with a primetime profile. my impression of elon musk is probably coloured by his public demeanour more than anything else. to anyone i've offended, ijust want to say — i reinvented electric cars and i'm sending people to mars in a rocket ship. cheering. did you also think i was going to be a chilled normal dude? his space exploration company wants to colonise the cosmos. back on earth, musk runs tesla — the world's most valuable car company. if you think of what is the future automobile, most folks will think of tesla ? that is a really difficult thing to achieve in the market. tesla is now worth more than bmw, volkswagen, toyota, ford and general motors combined. elon musk likes to do things big. his factory here in nevada is planned to be the biggest in the world. his tesla cars, well, they are the best—selling electric vehicles on the planet. and he himself? today, he's the richest man alive. tesla hopes to sell a million electric cars this year. elon musk�*s company has become the standard bearer for the electric car revolution. the final good of tesla. if you look back in history and think, what good did tesla do? by how many years did we accelerate sustainable energy? that's like the true metric of success. tesla's vehicles have an average of three kilos of cobalt in their batteries. that's less than some rivals. and the company is removing the metalfrom some of its cheaper models. but analysts say it's still putting more cobalt on the road than any other brand. tesla says it's sourced in an ethical way. it "aspires to be a �*do the right thing' company. in other words, engaging in conduct that your family would be proud of." but the nuns of kolwezi don't think tesla and its rivals are doing enough. what i would tell them is to try to look back . downstream at them and try| to see how are they sourcing these materials which is making them to continue growing - in their businesses? pay attention to the . humanity down there. see their sufferings, hear their cries. - the miners here have paid a high price for the cobalt that powers the world. some are now suing tesla — and other big companies — over accidents in kolwezi's mines. the victims don't want to be identified. can you tell me what happened to you? i was carrying a sack on my shoulders. i fell into a pit and broke my back. this man was severely injured when a pit wall collapsed on him. i want to work. life is hard for my family and i want to help, but i can't. i my legs hurt all the time. and this man told me he was shot in the back by a soldier guarding a mine. since i was shot, i can't work. i'm in too much pain. an american judge accepted that there had been horrifying injuries. but three weeks ago, he ruled that tesla and the other companies using cobalt couldn't be held responsible for the incidents. the victims are appealing. the kids that i now represent, every one of them told me that mine collapses, tunnel collapses, are common. they happen all the time. everyone knew someone who was killed or maimed in a tunnel collapse, and that each time one of these kids crawled into a tunnel, they knew that that tunnel was going to collapse at some point. the only question they have in their mind is, is it going to collapse while i am in it? the mines dominate life here, but local people don't think they get theirfair share of the underground riches. the community here still relies on clean water provided by the sisters. and there's donated food for the children's lunches. this delivery has been sent by the mining company that supplies tesla. they look forward to their lunch. and sometimes, that is the only mealfor the day for some and the only meal for the weekend. but the nuns don't want to rely on handouts. sometimes, i go to the people and i'm like, god, how are these people surviving? it's why the good shepherd nuns want change. they have already helped the industry reduce child labour in artisanal mines. we have been successful. in removing 4,000 children from the mines. i am proud of this because we i are trying to achieve something and give a real solution| to some real problems. tesla says it's trying to remove cobalt from its batteries. but last summer, it agreed a deal to buy up to 6,000 tonnes a year from kolwezi. the deal is controversial because of tesla's choice of mining partner. glencore. glencore is one of the world's largest diversified natural- resources companies. glencore says an independent verification process ensures it does not supply cobalt from artisanal mines. but in 2019, more than a0 artisanal miners died at one of its sites. they were trespassing on the mine when two tunnels collapsed. there was one part of the site the diggers could get onto illegally ? with the help of the security guards. the guards were badly paid, so the diggers negotiated with them to get onto the mine. glencore says it has improved security since the accident, including the construction of this 43 km wall. it's part of the company's $8 billion investment in the drc. but we've discovered artisanal miners have been climbing over the wall. in fact, one died in an accident on glencore�*s site ten days ago. there have been other problems with tesla's supplier. these are pictures from local tv, reporting a leak of sulphuric acid from a glencore mine. local people say it poisoned the river and surrounding farmland. we have a case at kcc which is a glencore mine. there was a lot of acid where it spread out of the mine and there was a lot of negative impact on communities. glencore says it contained the leak and no remedial measures were required outside the mine. but now, tesla's supplier is causing more anger in the town. it's trying to evict thousands of artisanal miners. they have been working here for more than a decade. glencore says it bought the site in 2015 and that this is an illegal and organised operation. we are a local community. the diggers are all locals ? working in a co—operative.| glencore is everywhere. and now, they are taking even these mines. - this is a fight about who owns kolwezi's cobalt. it's back—breaking work. but these diggers can at least earn a living. if glencore takes over, the mine will be safer, but far fewer workers will be needed. i have about 15,000 people here, but those 15,000 - will be left with no work. we have children, wives, families. . we can't live like this. glencore says it will help relocate the miners, if a suitable site can be found. but thousands face eviction by tesla's supplier. it's one way elon musk�*s electric revolution is playing out here. you can't tell someone this is where he's getting the daily bread or the food for the family. you tell that person, stop, but then you don't offer an alternative, it's like killing that person. the sisters are trying to empower the local community. this is theirfarm. and today, they're celebrating a community bank that's been set up by the nuns. but the sisters want real change. and where better to start than the world's richest man and his trillion—dollar company? the good shepherd order have used the experience of the sisters here in kolwezi to take their campaign for social justice straight to the face of the electric car revolution — tesla. they have gone and bought shares in elon musk�*s company. the good shepherd sisters very cleverly decided that one way they could try to help the situation in kolwezi and the miners is to buy some shares of stock in tesla, and influence some decisions that were made at the board level of tesla. to take on tesla, the nuns of kolwezi have reached out to america. they are working with their sisters in the us. as company shareholders, they can push for improvements in tesla's supply chain. in their literature, they will say they are implementing human rights, but the words at the corporate level do not impact in a real way in the situation that's happening on the ground. and i think today, like, there's a lot of talk about partnership, but we need ethical partnerships. and this is one way to start moving the conversation. one tesla promise the nuns are challenging is that it reviews "all information provided by its suppliers for red flags and risks associated with ethical sourcing." but tesla seems to have ignored a big red flag in its supply chain. let's build this country together, let's develop the mines and the infrastructure together, for the benefit of the drc. this is dan gertler. a middleman, who's accused of making a fortune from corrupt mining deals in the democratic republic of the congo. my heart was telling me, dan, this is the place. tesla's supplier, glencore, made secret payments to him for years. in 2017, he was sanctioned by the us for corrupt dealings in the drc. mr gertler denies it all and says his charitable foundation has given millions to the country. but the us authorities say his corruption has cost the drc more than a billion dollars. the accusations against mr gertler, with respect to his listing, were almost all corruption—related. but many people will tell you that corruption and human rights violations, they really go hand in hand here, because of the kind of conditions that people were living in in the mines, their inability to sort of get money out of their hard work, etc, so he was involved in the corruption component, which is why he was listed, but many folks also think that human rights issues, he should have also ticked that box. sanctions were supposed to stop mr gertler profiting from his deals in the drc, but glencore is still paying him royalties for the minerals it mines in kolwezi — more than a hundred million euros a year. we've been given documents by the whistle—blowing charity pplaaf that show some of the payments. here, you can see 11 million euros in just one transaction. that's cash from the mines going straight into the pockets of one of the most notorious middlemen on the planet. glencore�*s business in the drc is now under criminal investigation in both the uk and the us. the company says it's committed to operating ethically. the royalties in euros don't breach us sanctions and it's legally obliged to pay them. it says it has no desire to continue dealing with dan gertler. but the middleman is profiting from every tonne of cobalt that tesla buys from glencore. we'd been advocating for a long time for financial accountability for dan gertler, as the main sort of external exploiter of the people and the resources of the country. so, you know, if you can't have some level of accountability with him, you know, what chance is there? anywhere, of anything? we asked elon musk about mr gertler and the other matters raised in this programme. we didn't get a response. tesla is booming. in the past year alone, the value of elon musk�*s shareholding has increased by well over $100 billion. the sisters of the good shepherd think elon musk can well afford to help. people who have the ingenuity to amass wealth, and huge amounts of wealth, they have a certain ingenuity and talent that has enabled them to do that. my challenge then, is how can you take that great ingenuity, and creativity that you have, and ensure that the same wealth can be available to people in the drc. the nuns are being advised by experts in ethical investment. tesla's an interesting company because it's a company that we want to succeed, we need to succeed for the climate crisis, but we don't want there to be any trade—off between human rights and environmental impact. if tesla can really get strong human rights standards into their supply chain it sets a tone for other companies to look at as well. today, it's tesla's annual general meeting, held online. and sister winifred has a message for elon musk. announcer: the fifth stockholder proposal l is an advisory vote i regarding additional reporting on human rights. ms doherty, i would like to invite you to speak. - you will have three minutes. thank you very much, and good afternoon. i am winifred doherty, a member of the sisters of the good shepherd. the sisters of the good shepherd are asking tesla to review its supply chain. we again urge all tesla shareholders to support proposal nine, which requests that the board of directors commission an independent third party report. elon musk and the shareholders vote against the nuns�* independent report. the company now says it's phasing out cobalt in its cheaper models. but tesla will remain a major userfor years to come. i would just like to thank the team for all the great work in helping us get where we are. well done. applause. the sisters say they'll be back again next year, supporting the miners who are losing out in the electric car revolution. they think it's time for elon musk to give more back. time for tesla to live up to its promise. and really become a "do the right thing company". we will not lose hope. we will continue working and saying what we are seeing and hearing people saying, because we called to be because we are called to be the voice of the voiceless. determined than ever to cross this is bbc news. i'm simon pusey. our top stories? 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