Given’s Murphy’s Law, once mass production begins, prices should come down dramatically.
This is great news for Tesla Motors... a breakthrough lithium-ion battery would mean faster recharging time and a more viable electric car.
They have been waiting for this breakthrough and they will try to get it on the market faster.
Murphy's Law?
CA....
Murphy's Law is the one that says that "If anything can go wrong, it will." Moore's Law is the one that says semiconductor chip performance doubles every 18 months. However, this does not apply to batteries or solar. Many solar and battery advocates assume that progress is a given. You can go back to the 1970's and read articles that continuously promise that solar "prices will come down and performance will go up." In all those 40 plus years, solar cells efficiency has risen from 6% to 10% and that's about it. Battery improvements have been similarly slow. Lithium batteries like the ones used in cars and e-bikes are a great improvement over lead-acid, but we seem to be stuck at that level. Yet battery technology holds the promise of creating the richest man ever in the world were just a x5 to x10 improvement in lithium battery capacity ever to be made. It would truly revolutionize the world. Increasing the charging rate is helpful too, but not nearly as useful as increasing the capacity.
I have been told that Tesla cars use the same 18650-type batteries that are used in flashlights, just way more (obviously).
I do love 18650 batteries; I believe they are the wave of the future. I would not trade them for a Tesla though.