Electric car maker Tesla Motors seeks to release a mass market vehicle in the next 3 years, but first has to cut the cost of its batteries in half. It plans to do this by building economies of scale with a massive lithium-ion battery factory that could cost anywhere from $2 billion to $10 billion dollars. The location has yet to be announced, but rumors suggest it could be sited in the southwestern US.

“It’s the future of the company,” said Craig Irwin, analyst with Wedbush Securities. “They need to cut the cost of the battery in half in order to make a half-million cars. This is how they are going to do it.” – CNN Money