• Elon Musk Wants To Build The World's Biggest Lithium-Ion Battery Factory
    35 replies, posted
[quote]Tesla Motors is looking at building a lithium-ion battery factory that [B]will likely be the biggest in the world, said CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday.[/B] “This will be a giant facility. We are talking about something that is[B] comparable to all of the lithium-ion battery production in the world — in one factory,[/B]” Musk said during a conference call with analysts to discuss the third-quarter earnings. [B]“It’s big.”[/B] Securing enough battery cells has been the biggest challenge for the electric car maker, who announced an expanded purchase agreement with Panasonic on Tuesday that will see it buying three times more cells than it did previously. Tesla plans to get a minimum of 1.8 billion cells from the Japanese companies over four years.[/quote] This guy just won't stop being awesome. [url]http://www.forbes.com/sites/uciliawang/2013/11/05/tesla-considers-building-the-worlds-biggest-lithium-ion-battery-factory/[/url]
Cool, maybe Li-Ion-batteries will become cheaper then!
[QUOTE=DrDevil;42787874]Cool, maybe Li-Ion-batteries will become cheaper then![/QUOTE] I sincerely hope so. They're so damn expensive as it stands.
Good one that man; those kinds of batteries are pretty good, and having more of them is pretty much a good thing. It'd be a big boon for the electric car industry too.
-snip stating the obvious-
Elon have my babies. As an Aero major this guy is my hero. Apparently if you apply for coops and internships at spacex, he still reviews every application and will call you to congratulate you if you got the spot.
Oh I was wondering when he would do this. Nice.
hmm i wonder why he would be building a massive battery factory.... oh wow its in north america too, from the scale of that, it looks like maybe we'll see a resurgance of american lithium mines too
I read the title as "Elon Musk Wants To Build The World's Biggest Lithium-Ion Battery"
[QUOTE=muffinmastah;42789162]I read the title as "Elon Musk Wants To Build The World's Biggest Lithium-Ion Battery"[/QUOTE] Doesn't seem too unlikely What do you think the biggest factory in the world is going to build ?
[QUOTE=muffinmastah;42789162]I read the title as "Elon Musk Wants To Build The World's Biggest Lithium-Ion Battery"[/QUOTE] A single battery to rule them all.
I thought the production of Li-ion batteries was really harmful to the environment. Unless that's just the usual lack of first world regulations that goes on in those factories, which I assume is probably the case. Hopefully this lowers both the price and environmental footprint that Li-ion batteries create so all those pro-oil people can quit bitching about how electric cars aren't perfect in every way. That makes me realize the double standard that the green-tech vs oil-tech debate always brings up. Oil-tech always tries to discredit green-tech by saying that green-tech isn't fucking perfect in every way with no environmental footprint while discrediting any similar counter-argument on the basis of technological limitations.
[QUOTE=draugur;42795238]I thought the production of Li-ion batteries was really harmful to the environment. Unless that's just the usual lack of first world regulations that goes on in those factories, which I assume is probably the case. Hopefully this lowers both the price and environmental footprint that Li-ion batteries create so all those pro-oil people can quit bitching about how electric cars aren't perfect in every way. That makes me realize the double standard that the green-tech vs oil-tech debate always brings up. Oil-tech always tries to discredit green-tech by saying that green-tech isn't fucking perfect in every way with no environmental footprint while discrediting any similar counter-argument on the basis of technological limitations.[/QUOTE] I thought I heard the same thing. Maybe it's just the NiMH batteries from the Prius? People have been to hell and back on whether or not the rumors about how harmful Prius production really is.
I remember the transport was the harmful and pollutive bit. They had to transport the battery components all over the world then into the Prius factory and then from there to another place for final assembly and etc.
[QUOTE=Rapist;42797183]I remember the transport was the harmful and pollutive bit. They had to transport the battery components all over the world then into the Prius factory and then from there to another place for final assembly and etc.[/QUOTE] Also the mining of the raw materials can also be pollutive, if done Scrooge McDuck style.
the other problem with Prius construction is that China first crushed all international neodymium competition, then put unreasonably high duties on export of neodynium , but actually pays people to fabricate finished goods with neodymium inside the country, so while they can localise all the part productions, the motors and final assembly had to be done in China, NiMH batteries are also nasty because they use some heavy metals in the battery as a cathode and are dangerous if disposed of stupidly but priuses are generally resold so thats not so much of a problem
[QUOTE=Sableye;42789148]hmm i wonder why he would be building a massive battery factory.... oh wow its in north america too, from the scale of that, it looks like maybe we'll see a resurgance of american lithium mines too[/QUOTE] So in turn his aspirations for a massive lithium battery factory will increase the amount of mining jobs in America? Sounds like a good knock-on effect.
Elon Musk, you crazy bastard This would be pretty beneficial though; producing better batteries at cheaper cost, imagine the possibilities.
[QUOTE=Van-man;42797629]Also the mining of the raw materials can also be pollutive, if done Scrooge McDuck style.[/QUOTE] Well good thing we're not going to adopt radical republicanism about this one. I hope.
[QUOTE=Sableye;42798571]the other problem with Prius construction is that China first crushed all international neodymium competition, then put unreasonably high duties on export of neodynium , but actually pays people to fabricate finished goods with neodymium inside the country, so while they can localise all the part productions, the motors and final assembly had to be done in China, NiMH batteries are also nasty because they use some heavy metals in the battery as a cathode and are dangerous if disposed of stupidly but priuses are generally resold so thats not so much of a problem[/QUOTE] Rare earth mining also creates radioactive waste from uranium and thorium in the ores. Which is a problem when a country famous for not giving a shit about the environment is doing 90% of the mining. They've had to abandon a lot of villages near the Bayan Obo mines because of the ridiculous amount of pollution.
this guy is smart when he makes this, he will basically have a cheaper source to get batteries for his tesla cars/Hyperloop
[QUOTE=Wii60;42814851]this guy is smart when he makes this, he will basically have a cheaper source to get batteries for his tesla cars/Hyperloop[/QUOTE] Which will hopefully bring the price down. [editline]10th November 2013[/editline] Of the cars, I mean.
elon musk for benevolent ruler of the universe 2016
Honestly if I could afford it, I'd drive a Tesla. They're fucking awesome.
Isn't the disposal of batteries kind of troublesome, environmentally speaking? What happens when electric cars break down? Can you just crush the cars or are there any toxins you have to safely dispose of first?
[QUOTE=Krinkels;42815144]Isn't the disposal of batteries kind of troublesome, environmentally speaking? What happens when electric cars break down? Can you just crush the cars or are there any toxins you have to safely dispose of first?[/QUOTE] Yeah, batteries have to be disposed of in very specific ways. The chemicals in them are highly toxic and corrosive.
[QUOTE=draugur;42815011]Honestly if I could afford it, I'd drive a Tesla. They're fucking awesome.[/QUOTE] I'd rather get a Nissan GT-R but that's just me. I could totally have a tesla as a daily driver though. Just not as a fun car.
[QUOTE=Krinkels;42815144]Isn't the disposal of batteries kind of troublesome, environmentally speaking? What happens when electric cars break down? Can you just crush the cars or are there any toxins you have to safely dispose of first?[/QUOTE] The batteries in Tesla vehicles are designed to be swapped out, so you'd probably remove it and have it sent to Tesla before destroying the car if it was totaled. Although, Tesla receives data from all their vehicles with your consent, and can tell if you've been in an accident (they'll check up on you!) and if the car is totaled they'd probably just take away the whole thing and give you a loaner if you wanted that.
Tesla is legitimately a fucking AMAZING company.
[QUOTE=MR2;42815532]I'd rather get a Nissan GT-R but that's just me. I could totally have a tesla as a daily driver though. Just not as a fun car.[/QUOTE] Are you kidding? The Tesla Roadster is fucking beautiful!
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