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Look for Elon Musk to Unveil a Futuristic New Battery That Will Shake the Electric Car Market
Analysts predict a Battery Day big reveal that will make Teslas as affordable as gasoline vehicles
Tesla has pushed ahead in a key race among the world’s electric carmakers — getting expensive cobalt out of their batteries, and reducing the cost of the vehicles. Now, Tesla watchers expect the company to announce a new benchmark for its batteries that, if successful, would take its models to a long-sought Holy Grail — side-by-side cost parity with gasoline vehicles.
The anticipation among Tesla’s feverish fans is around a big unveil next month, where they expect CEO Elon Musk to announce that he either has or will soon achieve the battery equivalent of the two-hour marathon — the $100 kWh lithium-ion battery. Battery researchers have sought the goal since the new age of electric cars began a little over a decade ago.
Tesla did not respond to an email seeking comment, but for months Musk has been building expectation around Battery Day, a second annual event where he and his lieutenants geek out on the innards that drive his vehicles. In January, Musk told analysts that what he had to say “will blow your mind. It blows my mind.”
For more than a decade, Tesla and a small group of other automakers have struggled in a largely unseen battle — to drive down the cost of their batteries, by far the single most costly component in an electric car.
Already, Tesla shares are on a bull run. They have almost doubled in price over the last month, rising 13.6% two days ago and another 9% yesterday. Analysts attribute the surge to unexpectedly large sales by Tesla last quarter despite Covid-19 and the global economic downturn. Last quarter, Tesla became the first company anywhere to sell 1 million electric vehicles, and last year, it accounted for 78% of all EVs sold in the U.S. and 18% globally.
But analysts expect Musk’s Battery Day announcement to be more fuel for the high-flying stock. “It’s a linchpin event to showcase the next generation battery…
