2012: 20-25 kWh cost you $10000 (40->60->85). 2017: 20 kWh cost you $9000 (community guess seems to be 55->75).
That's almost no reduction in consumer cost in 5 years. So, yea, if Tesla can't bring down battery costs, they'd damn well better get crazy good efficiency with the Model 3! A giant chunk of Tesla's touted advantage and thus stock price, and major purpose of the gigafactory, was bringing down battery costs. Where are those battery cost reductions?
True. However, a big bear argument is charging is too slow. If Tesla has slow supercharging at 55kWh, they're not addressing one of the big two issues: range and charge time. And, again, another of Tesla's advantages is supercharging and Telsa has said repeatedly, for years, that they can get charge times down even farther. Yet, 5 years later, the Model 3 can't even keep pace with the 2012 Model S on charging. I'd expect parity if they'd made advancement.
From what I can see, after 5 years there have been almost no reductions in battery cost and no improvements in charging rate.
That said, maybe where we're at is "good enough" with all the awareness of Tesla and EVs. I hope so. I suspect if the Model 3 had come out 5 years ago it'd have been absolutely hammered on 45 minute supercharging times. Tesla had to fight tooth and nail to market 50% charge in 20 minutes as not being too slow.
