Sept 17 (Reuters) - Australia's Syrah Resources ( SYAAF )

said on Wednesday that it has agreed with Tesla to

extend the deadline to address an alleged breach of their

critical graphite supply agreement, buying the miner precious

time to salvage a deal vital to its U.S. expansion.

Elon Musk-led Tesla issued a default notice in July after

Syrah allegedly failed to deliver conforming active anode

material samples from its Louisiana processing facility for

Tesla's EV batteries. The original September 16 deadline has now

been pushed to November 15.

"While Syrah does not accept it is in default under the

offtake agreement, the parties have extended the cure date to 15

November 2025," the company stated, adding that both sides are

collaborating to resolve the dispute.

The 2021 Tesla contract, worth 8,000 tonnes annually for a

four-year period, underpins Syrah's Louisiana Vidalia facility

and its broader strategy to become America's first major

non-Chinese graphite supplier.

The facility represents the only vertically integrated,

large-scale anode material producer outside China, helping

reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese supplies that currently

dominate the market.

The extension offers temporary relief as Syrah battles to

establish itself in the strategic battery materials sector amid

intensifying U.S.-China trade tensions.

Tesla may terminate the deal if Syrah's Vidalia facility

fails to achieve final qualification of its anode material by

February 9, 2026.