The transportation sector is one of the leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions globally. A decarbonization strategy that puts the world on track to meet Paris climate goals will necessitate significant expansion of electric vehicle markets, and thus also critical minerals that are essential to the battery technologies within the vehicles. While research on critical minerals most commonly focuses on the technological and economic needs to achieve mass deployment of an assortment of critical minerals, least often discussed are the complex equity, geopolitical, and legal challenges associated critical minerals, all dimensions that are complicated by the geographic and supply constrained nature of various minerals. In this chapter, we discuss this trilemma of challenges, each accompanied by various examples across the world, and all set within the context of evolving electric vehicle and critical mineral markets.