The fear of an electric sedan's range may soon be over, as Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk expects that the battery technology that powers electric cars will improve over the years, and will most likely lead to massive range gains in a short space of time.
Recently, Elon Musk did an interview while in Copenhagen, Denmark where he talked about topics ranging from philosophical to practical. He also spoke about the future of electric vehicles. One of the biggest problems of EV buyers is the relatively short driving ranges being offered. Currently, Tesla has the best driving range with its Model S, going as far 800 kilometers or 500 miles. However, the range was achieved with rather slow speeds.
During the interview, Musk was asked how far he thought electric vehicles would be able to go in 2020. He expects that 1200 kilometers 746 miles will be possible in that year. However, from the context, it wasn't clear if Musk was talking about achieving the record with slow speeds or the official range ratings for regular driving.
Musk did reveal that he is expecting that the battery technology will go up and improve at a rate of 5% to 10% each year. The improvement will then possibly lead to some massive range gains over a short space of time.
Musk is also expecting fully autonomous self-driving cars to be ready by 2018. However, he doesn't see it going mainstream on the onset even when it's ready. He believes that cautious car regulators will not be permitting autonomous cars on the road for a couple of years thereafter.
While it's still a couple of years away before Telsa Motor's offerings hit the 1000 kilometer mark or autonomous self-driving cars getting permitted, the future definitely looks bright in the world of electric vehicles.
