Elon Musk Hints At Electric Jet Battery

Authored by Julianne Geiger via OilPrice.com,

It has been the bane of the electric vehicle revolution’s hopes—insufficient battery life. But now, Elon Musk has hinted that he might just have a solution to the thing that has dogged EVs for years.

Elon Musk, a name that is synonymous with EV manufacturer Tesla, hinted on Monday that the company might just be able to mass-produce EV batteries that have 50% more energy density within three to four years.

And although Musk’s track record for bold statements has been suspect, with some proclamations bearing fruit and others fizzling, the market is all abuzz.

The battery, Musk suggests, might be used to power an electric airplane. 

“Probably 3 to 4 years,” Musk tweeted on Monday, in response to someone asking why Musk keeps dropping hints about an electric jet.

“400 Wh/kg *with*high cycle life, produced in volume (not just in a lab) is not far,” Musk said on Twitter.

The news comes just a few days before Tesla is due for a 5-to-1 stock split, and on the same day that Tesla announced it was starting operating the world’s largest casting machine at its Fremont factory.

Perhaps coincidentally, the statement also comes as drone video footage shows that Tesla’s Tera battery manufacturing facility is undergoing major construction.

Tesla stated earlier this summer that it is making room for its Roadrunner project at that facility, an “in-house designed battery cell manufacturing system to increase production volume and reduce cost,” according to Electrek.