What few people realize about lithium batteries is it's not the lithium that's scarce and expensive, but the alloying elements that go in to make the electrode- most EV batteries use more Cobalt by weight than Lithium, and Cobalt is more expensive per pound.
Lithium's one of the lightest metals, so a little bit goes a long way.
IIRC cobalt is not only scarce, it's also mostly mainly produced in the Congo and Zambia, and anywhere referred to as the "Democratic Republic of..." is probably not as politically stable as one might hope.
This made me curious too... What is the cost breakdown of a Tesla car? What part(s) do we need to improve to lower the price to that of a regular luxury car?
I would consider a mid-range lexus as a regular luxury car. There are extremes (anything over $120k: Bentley, Maybach, etc.) but those are out of the reach of the masses.
My point is this: If a Tesla would be a petrol-powered vehicle, how much would it cost? Now find out WHY/WHERE there's a difference and look at that.
A Patek Phillipe watch is lovely, but probably doesn't have $30,000 worth of materials and labour involved. The rest is just pricing for a luxury good.
You're paying for the brand, that's true, but not $25k of that is the brand. You have to consider the materials, manufacturing process of individual pieces, labor, marketing expenses, service, etc.
Generally: Companies try to give you the best for the money.
