Dropping prices are what are going to move EVs IMHO. On paper they are so much simpler than ICE vehicles they should be a fraction of the cost. My understanding is that the battery is the expensive component — and I understand the prices of those keep coming down.
> On paper they are so much simpler than ICE vehicles they should be a fraction of the cost.
Except for the $20,000 battery in each of these Tesla vehicles.
That battery pack is basically the cost of a Chevy TRAX. And the battery is that expensive because its a complicated mess of chemicals: Lithium, Nickle, Cobalt... with complex battery-management systems (op-amps, transistors, MOSFETs) that can handle 800V and 250+ Amps of current, in a load-balanced way in both power and charging directions... designed for longetivity and safety.
Come on, its not actually that simple. The 15-gears that make up the Toyota Prius Power Split Device (serving as Transmission, Generator, and Starter) is obviously simpler in both chemical composition, sourcing (only uses Steel), and assembly.
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And building a 13kW-hr battery pack at 200lbs with a fraction of the power, and smaller electric motors at 110 hp out of cheap magnets (instead of Tesla's rare-earth magnets pushing 600+ horsepower or whatever) is also more environmentally friendly.
A lot of the problems with Tesla vehicles are self-imposed. They aim at absurdly high horsepower for not really much benefit to the typical everyday driver.
