Tesla's battery lead will last 10 years, followed by GM

         Jaffe, who has been focusing on the battery and electric vehicle industry, said that Tesla's advantages not only come from its operation scale, but also from Elon Musk's unremitting pursuit of reducing battery costs. According to Edmunds, the battery pack is the biggest cost of making electric vehicles, which is the main reason why the average transaction price of electric vehicles in February was $53392, higher than the overall average transaction price of new vehicles of $40472.

         According to Cairn energy, Tesla pays an average of $142 per kilowatt hour (KWH) for batteries from Panasonic, LG Chemical and Ningde times. GM, by contrast, costs $169 per kilowatt hour battery, compared with an average price of $186 for the entire industry. In terms of lithium-ion batteries, Tesla's cost is far lower than that of other automobile manufacturers, which also makes the company an industry leader in the production cost of electric vehicle battery packs. According to Cairn energy, the average cost of Tesla's battery pack is $187 per kWh, while the average cost of GM's battery pack is $207 per kWh, and the average cost of the industry is $246.

        Jaffe said that Tesla's battery composition is 10% cheaper than GM's and 24% cheaper than the industry average, because musk and his team have been actively promoting cost cutting over the past decade. "It's all about cost, and the lower the cost of batteries, the more people can afford electric cars."

        Tesla did not comment on Cairn's data. At Tesla battery day last September, musk demonstrated progress in battery design, saying the latest design could reduce its battery cost by 54%. At that time, musk said, "we don't have an electric car that consumers can really afford, which is one of the things that bothers me most."

        Cairn energy research predicts that by 2030, Tesla will still be the cost leader in battery and electric vehicle battery pack, while General Motors will gradually narrow the gap with Tesla and approach the cost of Tesla by 2030. Jaffe believes GM's ability to catch up with Tesla in terms of battery and battery pack costs reflects the company's decision to focus on electric vehicles.

"GM will be fully committed and take this fully integrated approach, which will make its battery cost very close to Tesla, although it is still not as large as Tesla," Jaffe said

        GM plans to invest $22 billion in electric vehicle projects by 2025, including the pure electric Cadillac lyriq to be launched later this year. Next year, a battery plant run by GM and LG Chemical will open on the outskirts of lodestown, Ohio. GM is expected to steadily reduce its electric vehicle costs as the plant increases production of ultium battery packs. Asked about Kane's cost forecast, GM spokesman Jim Cain said, "we intend to be the industry benchmark in this area.".

       For many automakers, the biggest challenge will be to catch up with Tesla and GM in the cost of electric vehicles. Jaffe said some automakers, such as Volkswagen, are making the necessary investments to narrow the gap, but many others are not.

      Jaffe believes that with the growth of electric vehicle sales in the next 10 years, the scale or cost efficiency of some automobile manufacturers will not be enough to really participate in the competition. Jaffe, in particular, questions whether Japanese automakers are too slow to fully embrace electric vehicles.