ELI5 Palladium - more valuable than gold?

Why is a metal you’ve probably never heard of often worth more than pure gold? Why are thieves risking jail just to steal one specific part from a Toyota Prius? What is the "Palladium at Night" satellite doing that no government will admit to owning? How did Ford lose a billion dollars by trying to hoard this "ghost" metal? Could this strange metal be the secret to "cold fusion" and unlimited power?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: tmwnn, jonathanrdt, audiblenod, iwillnevergetaname, tutul_, brokeneye3, cortcortkittycat and lwbdrb0901

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