[maxerickson]

I wonder about this. Is Tesla driving battery technology much (which is really sort of the key for EVs), or are they just putting themselves in a good position for when they get good enough?

I realize that they are creating demand for millions and millions of cells, but cell phones, tablets and laptops have been doing that for a decade now.

[Aqueous]

I think that they are trying to find the lowest possible cost for current technology. Part of this is building their own factory, which is supposed to cut costs by, I've read, 30%. Chipping off a percent here, and a percent there, and making the process as efficient as possible could make things quite affordable quite quickly.