Elon Musk vows to make electric cars generally available in three years

Irina Ziganshina

Elon Musk held Tesla Battery Day, where he made a presentation on new batteries. Musk called them "a major breakthrough", thanks to which two important goals will be achieved at once - electric cars will become much more perfect and more affordable, reports the Independent.

Tesla's new coiled lithium-ion battery will dramatically improve the way energy is stored and charged, delivering a fivefold increase in energy, a 16% increase in mileage without refueling, and a 500% increase in power. All this will allow Tesla in a few years to produce car batteries, which will be 56% cheaper than the current ones, and to reduce the cost of its electric vehicles. “We are confident that in about three years we will be able to offer a fully autonomous vehicle worth $ 25,000,” promised Elon Musk.

But this will require rethinking the entire supply chain, from mining and manufacturing to recycling used batteries, Musk said. In an effort to speed up production, Tesla will start extracting elements needed for next-generation batteries, such as lithium, on its own. “There's so much damn lithium on Earth, it's just insane”, Musk said. "In the United States alone, there is enough lithium to turn every car in the country into an electric car". Another major change will be that the car's battery will become an integral part of its design.

Tesla currently sells four vehicles: Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y, with several more in development. The Tesla Semi will be the first attempt at a heavy-duty vehicle, and the Cybertruck will be a groundbreaking pickup truck.