The first one to innovate the battery wins

[aidan]

Is Tesla's gigafactory for production of batteries only or is there research going on there? The battery is a major key to this whole thing. I periodically read that we are making improvements in the battery but then those stories fall flat and we don't read anything on new battery technology for awhile again

The biggest technological issue electric carmakers face is batteries, which restrict vehicles' range and make them much more expensive to buy than combustion-engine autos. Much of the faith in the electric car is based on progress made in this area, particularly by Tesla. Battery prices dropped by roughly 80 percent between 2010 and 2016.

Elon Musk says Tesla is way ahead of schedule on efficiency and costs
Both the McKinsey business consultants and the independent think-tank International Energy Agency (IEA) believe that if car batteries can reach an efficiency of $100 (94 euro) per kilowatt hour, they will become cheaper to buy and run than conventional vehicles without subsidies.
Musk says Tesla may be able to achieve that by 2020, which is one major reason McKinsey concluded earlier this year that "consumer demand is starting to shift in favor of electrified vehicle and has strong disruption potential." And if there are massive oil shortages and commensurate price increases by 2022, as the IEA predicts, Tesla and other companies could succeed in revolutionizing the market.

[sam]

The headline to this thread says it all. Not sure how to quickly respond as this is a huge subject. The battery to this day has been such an inflexible entity. We do read about innovation and progress in technology and science in regards to this issue but no ground breaking events have happened in a very very long time. Who ever manages to make the battery lighter and longer in charge (not mentioning all the other components that could stand to have some improvement) will be the grand prize winner

[PluggedIn]

I agree - that's the key to everything - producing a battery that's efficient, lightweight and durable.