What Tesla’s new Gigafactory means for electric vehicles

[laev]

This is a pretty big read so I'm only posting a clip of it

...The Gigafactory is a big statement from Musk, and a clear sign that Tesla believes the world is ready for full electrics. But does the world agree? Are lithium-ion batteries the way to go? The total number of cars sold in 2015 was around 72.37 million. Electric vehicles accounted for around 0.8 percent, or 540,000, of that number, a significant step up from about 376,000 EVs sold in 2014, but still less than 1 percent of cars sold worldwide....

https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/06/what-teslas-new-gigafactory-means-for-electric-vehicles/

 

[SeanNelson]

The Gigafactory is a big statement from Musk, and a clear sign that Tesla believes the world is ready for full electrics. But does the world agree? Are lithium-ion batteries the way to go?

The manufacturing industry, and car manufacturing in particular, has learned that the secret to cost control is to build flexible factories that can easily be adapted to changes in products. The last thing you want to do is to have to build a new factory before you're able to build a new product. In fact companies like GM probably value their expertise in factory management as being at least as great an asset as their vehicle design skills.

Let's hope that such lessons haven't been lost on Tesla.

 

[oilerlord]

I hope Tesla (LG, Panasonic, or anyone else) can find a way to improve the energy density, and a lithium ion's battery's performance in cold temperatures. The last few days have been unseasonably warm, and most of my glorious 100 mile range has returned - at least temporarily that is, until the reality of winter sets in. I do precondition the cabin and battery before heading out which does help a little.

Has anyone heard of any cold temperature battery chemistry, or breakthroughs on the horizon?