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Tesla CEO Elon Musk expects 'hundreds' of battery gigafactories

Tesla Motors has officially announced it will build a massive electric vehicle battery factory, which it calls a gigafactory, to make a huge amount of cheaper lithium-ion pack for the EVs of the future. It says these packs are so important that it is working on plans for a gigafactory in two locations, just to make sure there is a Plan B if something goes wrong with Site A. But how many gigafactories could there one day be? According to Musk's vision, expressed at the World Energy Innovation Forum held at the Tesla Factory in Fremont this week (where he also said that using the Lotus Elise as the basis for the Tesla Roadster was not the best idea), the auto industry will one day need hundreds of battery gigafactories. Now, that's not hundreds of Tesla gigafactories, but he thinks there will need to be 200 just to supply the automotive industry. Throw in stationary energy storage and iPads that run all year, and the number climbs even higher. One benefit of all these cells coming to market will be cheaper electric vehicles. Originally, Tesla said that its gigafactory would be able to reduce the per-kWh cost of a Tesla battery pack by "more than 30 percent." Musk repeated that number at the Forum this week, saying, "I think we can probably do better than 30 percent." The groundbreaking of the first Tesla plant could take place next month. Oh, and as a side note: doesn't Michigan look odd in the image above? We are one with the lake, apparently.

Someone in SF is exposing the wild 'Truth' about Tesla, and it includes 'anal itching' [w/video]

We'd like to give our heartfelt thanks to Ryan Block, former editor of Autoblog sister site Engadget, for sharing on Twitter one of the wackiest bits of anti-Tesla writings we've every come across. This is well beyond the anti-Tesla rage that once dominated conservative media coverage – it steps fully into tinfoil hat territory. We're not doctors, but perhaps someone needs lithium in its pharmaceutical form. Did you know, for example, that, "By driving a Tesla, you are involved in organized crime"? Or that, "By driving a Tesla, you are saying you have no morals"? Or even that, "By driving a Tesla, you are supporting spying?" Yes, friends, all this and more is explained (somewhat) in a small-font pamphlet that Block found, photographed and put up on Twitter yesterday. According to Block, the flyers have been distributed around San Francisco, being left anonymously on the windshields of parked Teslas. We can't quite follow all of the logic thrown together here, but it appears that someone is mad at the electric vehicle manufacturer for its ties to the government, Google and the media. Then there's this: "Psychographic, demographic and marketing studies have been published showing that Tesla drivers have a higher-than-average inclination towards drugs, strange sexual behavior and risk." We don't know if Tesla drivers are as extreme as all that, but there was at least one Model S driver who was recently spotted doing some odd moves in and out of his sunroof (see video below). Did we mention that Model S seats are known to cause "anal itching"? Maybe it's all part of the conspiracy. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Morgan Stanley predicts radical auto industry consolidation

A lack of technological foresight and changing economic conditions may bring dramatic consolidation to the auto industry in the next 15 to 20 years. Industry analyst Adam Jonas at Morgan Stanley believes that the number of major automakers could go from around 30 today to as few as 6 in that time. However, a catastrophe is avoidable.
Jonas' argument is that the world has more automakers than it can sustain. He contends that too many of them are more focused on next year's models than attempting to adapt to technological change. Without looking forward, they won't survive.
Tesla might be the lighthouse leading automakers away from the rocks. While still quite small, it has disrupted the status quo and shown that there's more than one way to prepare for new innovations. "With proper execution, Detroit may thank Tesla Motors for being that stiff board in the back of the head right when they needed it," said Jonas to The Detroit News.