Tesla Co-Founder JB Straubel Expects Most Electric Vehicle Batteries To Last This Long

Tesla Inc TSLA co-founder JB Straubel, who now runs battery recycling startup Redwood Materials, said on Monday electric vehicle batteries could easily last up to 15 years in most cases.

What Happened: Straubel said battery life usually tracks the vehicle's life in response to a question from Daniel Yargin, Vice-Chairman, IHS Markit, during a panel discussion at the CERAweek 2022.

“I think it's easily going to be 15 years in most cases ... I think people will probably keep the batteries in their cars for a long time and really extract as much utility as they can,” Straubel said.

“Battery life will probably track with the vehicle life. I think it's probably less likely that people will replace a new battery into an old car just given how fast technology is changing and how much better a modern EV might be than a 15-year-old EV right at that time and so.”

Straubel said Redwood Material — backed by e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc AMZN while Tesla is an early customer — is currently in a growth phase and working with battery maker Panasonic and automotive OEMs.

See Also: Tesla Co-Founder Says Battery Recycling Venture Not Profitable Yet — But He's Not Worried

Why It Matters: Straubel left Tesla in 2019 to focus on Redwood. The startup recovers and recycles elements such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, and copper. The demand for metals that are used in EV batteries has rocketed higher due to the increasing shift to electric vehicles.

The Nevada-based startup is currently building a materials facility that would "produce 100 GWh of the cathode to produce 1 million electric vehicles and 500 GWh for 5 million vehicles in 2030."

Price Action: Tesla stock closed 8% higher at $1,091.8 a share on Monday.