Ford, CATL, LFP Batteries -- Boggles The Mind On So Many Levels -- Must Drive Trump Nuts -- May 31, 2025

Locator: 48652BATTERIES.

Bill Ford's message to the US Congress.

Link here.

From the linked article: 

For low-cost, mass-market electric vehicles, lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries are a clear favorite. They skip pricey materials like nickel and cobalt, offer reasonable energy density, better thermal stability and last far longer.

U.S. automakers want to build them here, but they can’t do it without federal subsidies and China’s help. Now, as those subsidies are under the woodchipper, Ford’s joint battery plant with Chinese battery maker CATL in Michigan is on shaky ground. That could spell trouble for its affordable EV plans.

**************************
Michelle Obama and Women's Reproductive Health

Michelle was wrong on so many levels. 

Link here https://www.foxnews.com/politics/michelle-obama-facing-backlash-over-claim-about-womens-reproductive-health. 

You will have to "copy, paste and go."

I wonder if this link works. It does.

I wonder why it's called the "miracle of life." 

Is this what she feels about her own motherhood, that it really did not mean that much to her. But "reproductive health," for example research in ovarian cancer is a more important meaningful and/or gender equality is more important than the miracle of life?

****************************
The Book Page

In spite of the really bad review of this book by another author, this book is really, really good. 

Pioneer Girl, Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Annotated Autobiography, Pamela Smith Hill, Editor, c. 2014.

I bought it o a whim -- $5.00 -- mint condition -- a "library withdrawal book" -- and am more than pleasantly surprised.

It is such an incredible book on so many levels.

Six New Permits; Three DUCs Reported As Completed -- EV Battery Factory Proposed For Arizona Scuttled; CEO Resigns; Remains On Board -- February 4, 2025

Locator: 48473B.

Batteries: proposed battery factory for Arizona scuttled, link here --

**********************************
Back to the Bakken

WTI: $72.70.

Active rigs: 35.

Seven new permits, #41576 - #31582, inclusive:

• Operators: XTO (6); Empire North Dakota
• Fields: Hofflund (Williams); Starbuck (Bottineau)
• Comments:
• Empire North Dakota has a apermit for a Hornbill well, lot 2, section 1-160-79, 
• to be sited 400 FNL and 1350 FEL;
• XTO has permits for six HBU Marmon / HBU Marmon Federal wells, SESW 13-154-95,
• five wells to be sited 697 / 796 FSL and and 2002 / 2114 FWL,  and the sixth well, 400 FNL and 1350 FEL;

Three producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

• 36268, 169, BR, George 4A MBH, Mckenzie County;
• 36269, 169, BR, George 4B TFH, Mckenzie County;
• 36833, 1,867, XTO, HBU Muller 31X-12G2, Williams County;

A dry hole reported:

• 32669, dry, Petro-Hunt, Sophus 16-20HS, Divide County;

Four Reuters Headlines For Investors -- December 20, 2024

Locator: 44490LNG. 

Tag: Nvidia NVDA LDC batteries EVs electricity Northvolt Run:ai 

GM -- Batteries -- Archives -- December 11, 2024

Locator: 48375EVS.

For more background, see this post.

GM -- EV Batteries -- November 23, 2024

Locator: 44398BATTERIES.

November 23, 2024: link here.

From the linked article:

General Motors cut its stake in a maker of rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles.

GM Ventures, a unit of GM’s General Motors Holdings subsidiary, sold 13.3 million shares of SES AI on November 15, 2024, for $2.7 million, an average of 20 cents per share.

GM Ventures now owns 9.8 million shares, according to a form GM Holdings filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Coupled with GM Holdings stake of 9.9 million SES AI shares, GM now has overall ownership of 19.7 million SES AI shares, a stake of 6.2%.

Of the SES AI shares owned by GM, 2.1 million shares held by GM Ventures and 836,826 shares held by GM Holdings are restricted earnout shares that GM has the right to acquire upon achieving certain stock-price performance targets.

In response to a request for comment, GM provided this statement: “GM Ventures is beginning the process of reducing its investment position in SES following a fruitful multiyear collaboration that includes the company’s public listing, and the completion of our joint-development research. These actions are consistent with GM Ventures practice after a portfolio company’s successful listing.”

Much more at the link.

Is GM's Barra An Outlier -- Is She On The Wrong Side Of History -- Or Simply A Genius? October 22, 2024

Locator: 48635EVS.

Start with GM's 3Q24 earnings. Incredibly good. Gives them "room to run" on EVs.

Meanwhile, others, which takes you to this link:

Volkswagen reported mediocre first half 2024 financial results with the manufacturer indicating it cannot rule out potential plant closures in Germany, analysts at Morningstar DBRS, a global credit ratings business, said in a research note titled "Are Electric Vehicles Short-Circuiting? Auto Manufacturers Revise Electrification Strategies After Slowing Demand."

However, the analysts also said that in accordance with with "tightening environmental legislation across most jurisdictions worldwide, EVs remain poised to eventually represent much of the global automotive fleet, with automotive original equipment manufacturers highly relying on EVs to attain their future environmental targets."

In addition to the Volkswagen example, Ford Motor Company recently said it would cancel its planned three-row all electric sport-utility vehicles along with other strategic electrification updates.

And General Motors has lowered its planned 2024 EV production to range from 200,000 units to 250,000 units, down from an initially planned range of 250,000 units to 300,000 units, according to the report.

GM also said it will delay the expected launch of the first EV model for its Buick brand.

One of the challenges the automotive industry faces is that after an early wave of EV adoption from buyers drawn to the new technology, higher prices for EVs than traditional internal combustion engine models have prevented buyers from purchasing EVs.

"With EV sales to early adopters now seemingly exhausted, EVs are struggling to maintain ongoing sales momentum among mainstream consumers," the report said. In other words, we've not reached the tipping point, or said another way, we're still not in the upslope of the "S-curve."

EV purchases also remain closely tied to the availability of subsidies, according to the analysis, which noted that "it is not surprising to observe that, across many markets, the slowing demand for EVs has followed a decline in applicable subsidies and incentives in these regions." Europe has had their fill of EV subsidies, for example.

Despite some recent price reductions by automakers, on average an EV is $10,000 to $15,000 more expensive than a comparable conventional ICE vehicle, although this is less of an issue in China, where over 60% of EVs are priced below conventional vehicles, according to the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2024.

Many US states continue rolling out subsidies to help decrease the price discrepancy between EVs and ICE vehicles. For example, New Jersey recently offered incentives of up to $4,000 for the purchase or lease of a new battery EV and up to $250 for buying an eligible EV charger.

Range anxiety also remains an issue, according to Morningstar, particularly at lower temperatures when batteries can be less efficient.

At the end of the day, the real headwinds:

• the concept of being tethered; and,
• Americans experience with batteries.

Much more at the link. 

So, all things being equal, we can follow F vs GM, mano a mano. 

Batteries For EVs

Locator: 48634BATTERIES.

Updates

December 2, 2024:

November 23, 2024: batteries? More confusing than ever --

• Rivian, backtracking? Link here. And link here.
• See if you even understand what he is saying, and that's the theme for this weekend.
• EVs explained: and after reading that article, I still have no understanding of this issue.

November 22, 2024: link here. Northvolt collapses. Northvolt was one of the world’s most valuable battery startups. Now it has run out of charge.

Original Post 

October 22, 2024: GM, 3Q24 earnings --

Let's look at GM's EVs:

• CEO says company on track to meet 2024 EV production and profitability targets
• still expects to manufacture 200,000 EVs in 2024
• through the end of September, GM has sold about 70,000 EVs in US
• EV production and sales "don't match exactly."
• assumption: GM doesn't sell more EVs than it manufactures
• GM press release: 3Q24 -- another record quarter of EV sales;
• 32,095 EV delivered -- that's a record! Wow.
  
• total vehicle sales: 659,601 vehicles
• other sources:
• battery cost, about $100 / kWh earlier this year
• GM may be closer to $90 / kWh now (3Q24)
• goal to mid-$80 by next year ("by next year" = end 2024?)
• goal to low $70 "in a couple of years"
• ICE (GoogleAI):
• average cost of replacing an ICE engine: $2,500 - $5,000
• average cost of replacing an automatic transmission for an ICE: $2,500 - $5,000
• suggesting: GM cost for powertrain for an ICE is about $8,000, tops
• average GM kWH battery:

Journaling -- May 18, 2024

Locator: 47114EVS.

EVs, rambling: I don't drive much any more. In fact, if I didn't have Sophia to chauffeur to friends' parties; jiu-jitsu; or, soccer, I could probably give up my car completely. My own cars I only drive locally. If I take a road trip, I always rent from Enterprise -- they have a site about four minutes from where we live.

When I do drive, and this has been the way it's been since I got my first car -- a 1948 Willys jeep -- back in high school,  when I get home, I don't think about the car. I drive up to the house, park the car and get out. I don't think about the car until the next time I go out to drive it. No fuss, no muss, with the car on most days.  Annual maintenance, oil change, state inspection and registration, new tires every so often, and a new battery every so often. And that's it.

I don't think about gassing up -- re-fueling -- whatever. On the way home, I take a glance at the gauge, and if I need gasoline, I stop at one of any number of gas stations along the way, almost no matter when I am. The stop takes five minutes and I'm good-to-go for the next week or so, unless traveling cross-country.

“Along the way.” I don’t need an app to find a gas station.

But my perspective with regard to EVs. Just the opposite. Tethered. Always thinking about the battery. On the drive home -- every day -- every time I'm driving -- I would be checking the battery gauge. It's no different than looking at my battery every so often when I'm on the laptop. When will I need to plug it in? Will I be going somewhere later today where I will need to have a fully charged computer? Same with an EV. Not only every time I get into the car, but throughout the trip, I would be looking at the battery gauge. 

And, then, before calling it a day, I need to decide whether I need to charge the car overnight, either in the garage (and worry about an in-garage battery fire) or at a public charging station -- where the next one might be; will there be a charger available; will the charger work; how long will I need to charge the EV? Is it safe to leave the car unattended overnight in some dark parking lot on the edge of town?

Tethered to a battery.

It’s no longer about the car. It’s no longer about range, per se. It’s about the battery. Everything wrapped up in the battery.

I think about that almost every day, trying to understand  why EVSRNFM, and then I saw this in the news feed this morning:

 *************************
Journaling

I've kept journals since middle school. My longest continuous journal went from summer between my junior year and senior year in high school to medical school graduation, 1968 - 1977. About nine years.

In addition, a lot of my journaling was in the form of letters sent from college and graduate school to my parents. My mom kept all those letters, kept them organized, and are safely stored in the bat cave. 

Then in the USAF for 30 years plus a day, I kept multiple journals, covering different activities, permanent duty stations and temporary duty locations.

Then with the grandchildren, any number of photo albums for each. 

I continue to journal but it's a bit different now that I blog.

Anyway, here's a few of my journals and photo albums down in the bat cave.

This is my most treasured journal for form and function, and detail. It was one of many kept at the time. First entry, San Antonio, January 23, 2006; final entry, August 6, 2006. I would have had two or three other journals covering specific subjects running concurrently.

Here's a sample of what the journal looks like on the inside. I opened the journal and randomly came to the entry for May 2, 2026. We were stationed in San Antonio, TX, with just a bit more than one full year yet to serve, before retiring. I was surprised by the entry; it could have been written today, LOL:

• depressed over some family news
  
• Hamas
• Puerto Rico
• investing
• oil prices
• the Fed and inflation concerns.

Ford To Add Over 15,00 Tesla Superchargers To Its EV Network -- October 30, 2023

Locator: 45863INV.

For investors:

• three major EV manufacturers that would be considered "American": Ford, GM, and Tesla;
• two of them have announced decisions to delay EV manufacturing
• that leaves one (let's check the math: 3 - 2 = 1)
• one of the three: primary business -- batteries

From today:

Ticker F: down another 1.5% today, trading about $9.80.

General consensus: the UAW contract was not good for Ford. Details for Stellantis yet to be reported. Contract with GM still be negotiation.

CATL, EVs, And All That Jazz -- October 2, 2023

 Locator: 45622EVS.

Update -- Much More To The Story

Link to Forbes.

The chairs of the three most powerful House committees have threatened to subpoena Ford if it does not provide documents detailing a deal with China’s CATL battery maker. Ford cannot ignore this request, and it might even force them to back out of the deal. It’s already pressed pause on a new $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan.

It’s not clear what Ford will do after this, but the experience illustrates how turbulent the electric vehicle (EV) transition might be.

In 2021, President Biden announced an executive order that directs government policies to ensure 50% of all new passenger vehicle sales are electric by 2030. This year, the administration proposed that the figure increase to two-thirds by 2032. These are ambitious targets—the electric vehicle (EV) share of the new vehicle market was just 7% for the first half of this year. Getting from 7% to 67% by 2032 in a commercially viable way is going to take a massive reallocation of people, capital, and resources.

Such a monumental transition would be challenging even in the best of times. Today’s EVs are powered by lithium-ion batteries. Coupling and growing the two industries together comes with many challenges, including investing in new capital equipment, forming new business ventures, licensing the know-how, and ensuring they have the right people in place.

Mining and processing the raw materials for these batteries so far has largely been done outside of the United States. Ford found a way to domestically manufacture EVs by licensing battery cell technology from China’s CATL, a world leader in lithium iron phosphate battery technology. The arrangement was announced in February 2023 and allowed for Ford’s wholly owned subsidiary in Michigan to manufacture the battery cells using CATL’s LFP battery cell knowledge and services. In other words, Ford will control a 100% ownership stake in the plant while licensing the know-how.

Now, congressional concerns over CATL’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party have led to the subpoena, and Ford has halted work at the Michigan battery factory. It’s unclear if they will resume.

Original Post -- Some Weeks Ago

Ford halts construction of $3.5 billion EV battery plant in Michigan:

• why Barron's says this is a big, big deal; link here; link here, also;
• "Michigan" can't be happy
• how many union jobs lost or "put on hold"?
• Ford re-thinking this EV thing?
• UAW - Ford, GM, Stellantis -- circular firing squad
• UAW planned / plans for months (plural)-long strike and will gradually expand

F-150 Lightning -- Jump In Price -- ZeroHedge -- December 19, 2022

Link here.

The base version of the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup now starts at $56,000, more than 40%, or about $15,000, over its original listing price earlier this year, according to Electrek. Ford hiked prices in August and October. 

Electrek discovered the stealth price hike after visiting the order page of the Detriot-based automaker's website. The configuration and base price of all EV Lightning variants is shown below. 

"Interestingly, the prices of the other versions of the F-150 Lightning haven't increased with this update. The cheapest way to get a Lightning with the longer-range extended battery pack is still the XLT, starting at $81,000," Electrek said. 

There was no explanation by Electrek or Ford about the price hike. However, we pointed out several days ago that lithium-ion battery packs jumped in price for the first time since BloombergNEF began tracking. 

Tickers:

• TSLA: down $2.00; trading at $148.
  
• RIVN: up slightly; trading at $22.52.
  
• LCID: up 4%; trading at $7.10
  
• RIDE: down 8%; trading at $1.20
  

GM: Three New Battery Plants Planned -- $2.5 Billion -- Deccember 14, 2022

This may be old news. I may have blogged about it before. I forget.

From WXYZ, Detroit ABC, GM joint venture gets $3.5 billion load to build three battery plants, including one in Michigan. 

*****************************
Gasoline Demand

Link here.

***********************
California -- Electricity Demand .... And Cost

Link here.

***********************
GDPNow

Link here.

For The Archives -- Lithium-Sulfur Batteries -- July 28, 2022

This seems a bit bogus but we will post it for the archives and see how this plays out.

Link here.

Lithium-sulfur batteries?

Sodium-sulfur batteries?

After decades of study and billions of dollars spent on R&D for EV batteries, I have a natural (healthy?) skepticism of "an accidental discovery."

*************************
The Apple Page

Link here.

Apple is opening a new development site in Jerusalem, Israel, to develop new Apple silicon chips for future Macs.

Over time, chip companies will marginalize China. 

GM -- EV -- Detroit, Lansing -- $3 Billion -- December 10, 2021

Link here.

• GM - $3 billion
• two EV-related projects
• suburban Detroit, Orion Assembly plant: hub for its electric pickup trucks
• $2 billion; 1,500 jobs
• Lansing, MI
• 50-50 joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solutions
• battery partner
• $2 billion split; 1,200 jobs

Obvious questions:

• source of semiconductor chips?
• software partner?
• who will do the software design work?

***********************************
A Musical Interlude

Time for the head phones and loud music.

All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down, Mavericks

From A Reader -- Native Americans, Batteries, Bets, And Target Practice -- December 8, 2021

The chief's most famous words: "I will fight no more, forever." 

That's exactly how I feel about renewable energy. I'm all in and investing accordingly. LOL. It's an open book test.

From a reader:

Chief Joseph's famous line.

Uttered in the movie by an actor named Ned Romero 😀.

Anyway, I don't know any of the Nez Perce language ... but, the first word I'd like to learn is "hypocrisy." [mic’yóox̣omtx will work for me.]

Idaho Tribe Accepts Massive Battery Made With Chinese Lithium While Protesting U.S. Mining

Idaho Tribe Accepts Massive Battery Made With Chinese Lithium While Prot...

By the way - here's a photo of a lithium mine.  There are people that protest Canadian oil sands mining - but this is ok.  It's for batteries, so it's clean.  Spare me.

Anybody want to bet against me?  I've got $100 that says that battery will be target practice before the end of 2025.  

I guess I should make it $20.  Nobody would take my last standing bet.  I would have bet anybody that the Covid vaccines weren't going to be anything above 50% effective by the end of the year. Couldn't get anybody to bet $100 against me.  So - I've learned my lesson....  We'll set this bet at $20.

Notes From All Over -- Part 1 -- August 27, 2021

Battery recall: Hoverboard battery packs sold at Walmart, Target, and Amazon recalled over fire hazard. How long have "we" been working on batteries, and they are still catching fire. Link at Fox Business. Razor issues a recall for 237,000 lithium-ion GLW battery packs.

Bitcoin: we're getting closer and closer to the tipping point. Link at Fox Business. Second largest US mortgage lender accepting Bitcoin. United Wholesale Mortgage  now accepting Bitcoin. 

Covid-19: it's now being reported that natural immunity is so much better than vaccine-immunity. This is coming out of the Israeli data. Natural immunity is 13x more effective than current vaccinations. Exactly what everyone suspected back in March, 2020, when the plan was simply to flatten the curve, until Governor Cuomo moved the uprights, saying that he would not allow one Covid-19 death under his watch.

Batteries -- Idle Thoughts -- December 27, 2020

The discussion of batteries will center around five or six issues, at least.

• commercial vs residential vs individual
• household vs wearable
• cost
• efficiency / technology
• time between charging

*************************************
New York City -- Op-Ed 

Updates

December 28, 2020: a reader replies. 

Original Note 

New York City is about to buy 45 seconds of back-up power for one-half billion dollars.  And no one seems to care. Mention this to a New Yorker and at best you will get a shrugged shoulder. Guaranteed.

New York won't be able to buy its way out of blackouts -- Watts Up With That -- December 25, 2020. Link here.

New York City will soon be home to the world’s biggest utility-scale battery system, designed to back up its growing reliance on intermittent renewables. At 400 MWh this batch of batteries will be more than triple the 129 MWh world leader in Australia.

NYC presently peaks at around 32,000 MW needed to keep the lights on.  

So for reliability we need, say, seven days of backup, which is 168 hours. Here’s the math:

32,000 MW x 168 hours = 5,376,000 MWh of stored juice needed to just make it.  Mind you for normal reliability we usually add 20% or so. 

400 MWh is not “significant scale. It is infinitesimal scale. Nothing. Nada. Might as well not exist.

[I estimate 45 seconds of backup power from the facility. Someone correct me if I’m wrong~CR]

Cost: how much will this 45 seconds of backup power cost? If you are a New Yorker, I hope you are sitting down.

Cost: how much will this 45 seconds of backup power cost? One-half billion dollars.  

So, what would it cost to reliably back up wind power for NYC? $8 trillion.  

We have no idea how to make 5 million MWh of batteries work together. The tiny 400 will be a challenge. It may not be possible.

Batteries

Locator: 100010BATTERIES.

The discussion of batteries will center around five or six issues, at least.

• commercial vs residential vs individual
• household vs wearable
• cost
• efficiency / technology
• time between charging

**************************************

Panasonic nixes EV battery plant planned for Oklahoma. December 23, 2023.

Koch Industries: big interest in batteries, The WSJ exclusive. March 22, 2022.

GM: looking to build second battery factory in US; Tennessee eyed for plant; March 4, 2021;

China: TP exports surge. January 1, 2021. 

NYC: New York City is about to buy 45 seconds of back-up power for a half-billion dollars. December 27, 2020.

Lithium -- October 1, 2020

Re-posting:

Lithium:

• one will start seeing a lot of stories on lithium; shortages, high prices, etc. But one thing remains: at the end of the day there will be a surplus of lithium. It may be expensive until supply and demand even out, but there won't be any shortage.
• major supply shortage; link to Tsvetana Paraskova;
• lithium recovery from oil and gas produced after (including the Bakken); link here to ACS Energy Letters;
• shale boom could fuel batteries; link to Earth: The Science Behind the Headlines; 
• lithium: world class deposit, link to investingnews; 
• Nevada is home to the only operating lithium mine in the United States which is located in Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County. The mine has been in operation since 1967, employs 85 people, and produces lithium carbonate from evaporation ponds which concentrate the lithium.
  

Tesla: one step ahead; link here;

• failed to reach a deal with Cypress Development Corp., which focuses on extracting lithium from clay deposits in southwestern Nevada;
• Tesla has secured access to 10,000 acres of lithium-rich clay deposits in Nevada, and plans to use a new, “very sustainable way” of extracting the metal.
• announcement followed pledges from the car and battery maker to produce a cheaper, lower-cost battery, build a $25,000 electric car and eventually produce 20 million vehicles a year.
• also announced deal with Glencore for cobalt; huge need for cobalt; cobalt may be the "big problem," but lithium, probably not;
  

***************************************
Apple

iPad: new iPad Air "available in October." Apparently one can order it now, but no delivery date yet established? Base model, wi-fi only, 64 GB, $599; 256 GB, $749. Seeing all the apps that 6-y/o Sophia "needs" on her iPad for school, I highly recommend springing for the 256-GB model.   Pencil essential.

With regard to connectivity, I've learned to "do without." Of the three mobile devices I carry when traveling (an iPhone, an iPad, and a MacBook Air), only the iPhone has cellular in addition to wi-fi. One can find free wi-fi almost anywhere -- although more of a pain with "everything closed due to Chinese flu"; while driving I tend not to use my iPad or my laptop.

MacBook: if you need it for work, get the MacBook Pro 16", but for home use, college, or graduate degree, get the MacBook Air. 

If one travels a lot for business, one may be better off with the MacBook Air. My hunch: the MacBook Air will meet the needs for most business men and women. MacBook Air starts at $899. Buying "up" is a fairly significant jump in price: $1,199. With the latter one gets 512GB SSD storage vs only 256GB SSD storage in the less expensive model. With the "cloud" and peripheral hard drives, I'm not sure you have to have more built-in storage, but it is nice. It's hard to believe but I have only 125 GB on my "old" MacBook Air and it's close to maxed out even after "severe" management of storage.

College student: if your college student says a "MacBook Pro" is a must, a better deal: a MacBook Air, an iPad, and and  Pencil. Your college student will thank you.

Battery Day -- The WSJ -- September 23, 2020

Tesla: EVs are still a luxury, Elon Musk. This is probably one of the best articles on status of EVs today. Link over at The WSJ. And, yes, it's still a battery issue. Battery Day for Elon Musk.

• plans to be world's largest auto maker by .....
• Volkswagen AG: here, hold my beer
• if Elon Musk delivers 20 million vehicles annually that will be twice what Volkswagen AG sold last year (2019) (all vehicles)
• this will be fun to watch
• might get to a $25,000 vehicle in "three years or so"
• operative phrase: "or so"
• no precise timeline or budget figure provided
• after the presentation, TSLA fell more than 6%, but then recovered a bit

The presentation, according to The WSJ:

It is the kind of shoot-for-the moon goal that has previously excited investors to make Tesla the world’s most-valuable car company despite selling just 367,500 vehicles last year.

 More:

Mr. Musk has a long history of making grandiose claims, some of which have been conveniently forgotten, including promises around robot vehicles and missed production goals. But he gained traction and credibility after opening a new factory in China and posting four consecutive quarters of profit after several years of struggle as he worked to deliver the Model 3. [Profitability mostly due to selling regulatory environmental credits.]

The compact car represented his long-pursued bet that the company could build and sell an electric car for $35,000 to usher in a new age of electric vehicles. But the Model 3 is still too expensive to be considered an everyman’s vehicle. It was briefly priced at $35,000, though on average sold for about $50,000 last year.

And here's the problem: “One of the things that troubles me the most is that we don’t yet have a truly affordable car, and that is something that we will make in the future,” Mr. Musk said Tuesday. “But in order to do that, we’ve got to get the cost of batteries down.” 

Actually that's only one of many, many problems.

But time to move on.

One helpful metric before we leave:

While Mr. Musk didn’t detail the exact cost per kilowatt-hour of battery cells, his projected savings of 56% to be fully realized in around three years would suggest a price far below the $100 per kWh threshold generally accepted for electric cars to reach price parity with gas-powered vehicles. Tesla’s cost of cells for the Model 3 are around $100 per kWh, according to estimates by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

More on batteries here, also from The WSJ.