All Things Money
dryers, air conditioners and commercial hand dryers.
In 1990, his company developed a cyclonic filter that could be fitted to a car’s exhaust system to trap particulates.
In 2015, Dyson bought solid-state battery company Sakti3, a business spun out of the University of Michigan which hopes to double the life of batteries.
Sakti3 specialises in solid state batteries with the potential to hold more charge than the current lithiumion batteries (which, for electric cars, means a greater range per charge).
At the time of the acquisition, Dyson talked of Satki3’s breakthrough battery technology. Most thought this technology was aimed at providing power for products such as the company’s cordless vacuum cleaners which account for half its global sales. But Dyson had a bigger vision.
In 2016, Dyson received a £16 million grant from the UK government towards battery research, and the company’s ambitions in the automotive sector were finally revealed.
Dyson’s commitment to building an electric car — a commitment involving £2 billion and 400 employees over the next three years — was criticised by many as “the ego trip of a billionaire”.
Musk encountered the same criticism when he outlined his Tesla vision. His company is now valued at nearly US$60b, Tesla cars have achieved cult status and he has an order book of around 400,000 cars worth US$1.4b if delivered.
The electric car market increasingly crowded and if is the