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Hmm. What are the recycling opportunities for lithium ion batteries?


I believe the FAQ section on the Tesla website mentions that the initial cost of the car means they already billed you for the recycling of the initial set of batteries. They mention that you can be in and out in a few hours with a total battery replacement. It's somewhat unclear if that first replacement is "already paid for" or not. But at least the recycling/disposal cost is covered.

Also of note: If you pick the "solar" option, you don't get solar panels on the car to recharge it, but instead some solar plant somewhere drops an amount of energy into the grid equal to the amount you suck out on every recharge.
I guess if it helps you sleep better at night....

In any case, this seems to be an awesome achievement, proving that electric cars don't have to be slow, ugly, and ultra-short-range.
They can in fact be pretty enough to show up on a poster above a young boy's bed, fast enough to occupy his daydreams, and almost practical.

Now, they just need to knock the price down by a factor of four, finally whip the toxic recycling issues, and completely put to rest any safety concerns that so much concentrated battery weight, energy, and chemicals cause.
(And I think they will eventually lick these issues. And the "dot-com millionaire market" is the right place to start with this product. Note also, that they are limiting distribution to only 3 states unless you pay an extra $10,000.)