Tesla May Hold Advantage In Battery Technology For Several More Years

Sep. 07, 2018 7:25 PM ET by Jared Rosenholtz Industry News / 10 Comments

Thanks to how Tesla's batteries are made.

Every time an automaker releases a new electric car, the big story is always how it is targeting Tesla. Yes, we are guilty of pushing this narrative in the past, but it doesn't seem like the Tesla love will be going away any time soon. Even though several automakers including Jaguar and Mercedes have recently introduced competent rivals for the Tesla Model X, Tesla still holds a major advantage in battery technology. Automotive News Europe reports that Tesla is poised to hold onto this advantage for several years - this according to research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Bloomberg estimates that Tesla should continue to hold an advantage based on how its batteries are designed. Tesla's batteries produced in the US and by Japanese partner Panasonic use far less cobalt than other battery cells, which limit how expensive they are to produce. Cobalt prices have skyrocketed because of demand for electric cars, which could give Tesla a big advantage. Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he is aiming for a battery cell price of $100 per kilowatt-hour in 2018, which is well below the current industry average.

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"If Tesla reaches its pack-price milestone, it will be several years ahead of our industry benchmark," Bloomberg said in the report. Tesla continues to dominate EV sales in the US but faces threats in Europe from upcoming rivals. The Jaguar I-Pace should start to cut into Model X sales and the recently revealed Mercedes EQC should be a competent rival as well. So far, Tesla has been the only game in town when it comes to luxurious EVs. Now that the competition is heating up, Tesla will need every advantage it can get to remain ahead.