The advent of electric cars will likely result in electricity consumption worldwide to double. This is according to CEO Elon Musk, who shared his thoughts during a recent talk hosted by Berlin-based publisher Axel Springer.
According to Musk, this increased demand for electricity will likely increase the need to expand the rollout of sustainable solutions like solar, geothermal, and wind energy.
Musk, however, noted that increasing the availability of sustainable energy is a major challenge, and it will likely take a couple of decades for the shift to be completed. “It will take another 20 years for cars to be fully electric. It is like with phones, you cannot replace them all at once,” Musk said.
With this in mind, Musk noted that the need for products where sustainable energy could be stored would also increase. The development and rollout of grid-scale batteries, which are capable of storing energy generated through sources such as solar and wind, would likely play a key role in this.
“Together with large battery packs, both things need to be combined, wind power with battery packs and solar energy,” Musk said.
Tesla Energy is a rapidly-growing part of Tesla. In previous comments, Musk stated that the potential for Tesla Energy, particularly its large-scale batteries like the Megapack, is massive. The Megapack has proven to be a success since it was introduced, with Tesla noting the demand for the grid-scale battery has been outpacing supply since it entered the market.
Tesla is currently looking to build its first Gigafactory in Germany, which will be tasked with the production of the Model Y for the European market. Apart from the all-electric crossover, Giga Berlin is also expected to produce a smaller, more affordable car that’s more optimized for European territories.