A Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town

> Finally, Thelen came up with a stunt to disprove at least one of the No Gos’ talking points. He would show that Gotion’s products were safe. And he would do that by eating the chemicals inside its batteries.

> Thelen set his sights on a township board meeting scheduled for April 9, where the Pro Gos — residents in favor of Gotion — and No Gos would square off again. As the date approached, Thelen looked into lithium iron phosphate, the key component of Gotion’s EV batteries, to make sure this dark gray powder was non-toxic. He consulted Gotion’s researchers, read up on the substance’s safety guidelines, and even did a taste test in private. “It is tasteless,” he recalled in a subsequent radio interview, comparing it to corn starch.

Lithium iron phosphate is common to most modern electric batteries, right? Funny to consume it in a stunt when the objections to this factory seem much more rooted in anti-Chinese sentiment.