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For Now, at Least, the World Isn't Making Enough Batteries (bloomberg.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Evidence of the battery-powered era is all around us. Electric vehicles are cruising down our freeways. Household appliances thrum with stored solar energy that was until recently a daytime-only power source. Governments from California to China and South Korea -- even Donald Trump's Washington -- have taken steps that will make battery power more ubiquitous. There's just one hitch to this battery boom: The world isn't making nearly enough. All of the new demand from North America, Europe and Asia is constrained at the moment by a market that remains heavily dependent on a few producers. Data on the global supply of batteries is hard to come by, but close observers of the industry have noticed evidence of the shortfall. "We've never seen such demand," said Yayoi Sekine, a New York-based analyst at Bloomberg NEF. "But the supply is struggling to keep up."
Oddly, however, lithium-ion battery-rack prices have continued their annual decline, even in the face of constrained supply and expectations of ever-growing demand. To get a clear sense of the near future, consider battery-powered cars: Today, there are more than 3 million electric vehicles on the road worldwide; by 2025, Volkswagen AG alone plans to build as many as 3 million electric vehicles per year. Those vehicle batteries -- in addition to storage batteries for homes, businesses and utilities -- will have to come from somewhere.
Oddly, however, lithium-ion battery-rack prices have continued their annual decline, even in the face of constrained supply and expectations of ever-growing demand. To get a clear sense of the near future, consider battery-powered cars: Today, there are more than 3 million electric vehicles on the road worldwide; by 2025, Volkswagen AG alone plans to build as many as 3 million electric vehicles per year. Those vehicle batteries -- in addition to storage batteries for homes, businesses and utilities -- will have to come from somewhere.
Now the limit on electric cars is cobalt for lithium-ion batteries. Until some clever person develops zinc-air batteries or carbon nanotube batteries or something even better. One way or the other, electric cars are coming.
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
Tesla's technology is obsolete already. Also, Tesla's batteries are round. Automakers prefer flat batteries.
Add in the fact that Tesla is a money losing, cash flow negative, deeply in debt failure run by a liar and a narcissist, that factory won't be around - unless Musk can continue to lie and convince stupid people to dump money into the bottomless pit known as TEsla.
The ONLY reason Tesla is still around is because Musk is a great con-artist and convinces stupid people to give him more money. Tesla is incapable of sustaining itself because it is poorly managed by an idiot know as Elon Musk.
Oh, all the fanboys here on the Slashdot Tesla/Musk praising echo site are all retards.
Now, cue up the losers who are going to parrot Musk's bullshit and add in their own.
*Sold long position at $365, shorted and covered at $265. Kiss my dick while I rest on my pile of cash - taxed at 0% and 10% respectively. All taken out of the fanboy's pockets because the financial markets are a zero sum game.
AH! Hahahahahahahahahahhahahahah!
I'm Robin The Wall Street guy: I take from the stupid and give to myself!
Not exactly. They were making the point that even an administration hostile to renewable energy still acknowledges the issue.