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Originally Posted by BuzzF117
I hear all the talk of hybrids but nobody can answer my question about disposing of the batts im thinking the disposal cost of huge banks of lithium batts would be brutal on the consumer!!! I know as it is now you have to pay a fee for disposing of your lead acid batt when you dispose of it.
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You are correct that Li-ion batteries produced on a scale to meet all vehicle demands would cause an environmental issue themselves. The biggest problem is that battery technology hasn't taken a major technological leap for almost two decades (Li-ion was developd in the 70's and first entered the market in 1991). Until the efficiency of batteries increases and cost drops we won't see much past the $100,000 Tesla and glorified golf carts. There are some promising breakthroughs in increasing capacity but I can guarantee these would be accelerated if demand was higher. The Telsa's batteries are designed to run for 100,000 miles. If you take the reduced emmisions over that timeframe (not to mention the reduction in consumable fluids) I am sure the battery greatly wins out ecologically.