From The Mobilist Inbox This Week
$60/kWh batteries, Elon on SNL, Gaming and batteries
The astonishing $60/kWh battery: I exchanged tweets with Eyvind Aven about yesterday’s piece on the U.S. Energy Department’s startling update of its target for lithium-ion battery costs. Until now, the industry — and Energy Department — Holy Grail has been to reach $100 per kWh, thought to be the inflection point for sticker-price parity with internal combustion. But the goal posts have moved: Tesla, Volkswagen and now the standard-creating Energy Department are all looking to $60/kWh as the new parity point.
For the automakers, $60/kWh is not a mere number, but a metaphorical bomb: Tesla and VW appear determined to win at all costs, and that means blowing up the internal combustion business model. This is a zero-sum game for them: They want to sell their EVs in very large numbers, and for combustion to become quickly obsolete in the minds of motorists — to inflict an “Osborne Effect” of obsolescence on rival automakers. That the Energy Department has adopted the $60/kWh standard as well puts the U.S. government behind the cutthroat goal, too.
If so, the battle will be hard-fought. Take a look at this chart that Aven tweeted yesterday. From Citi, it’s a head-to-head comparison of EV and ICE drive train costs. The slide does not disclose the cell…
