Hi Strauss - the following is my opinion. The lag of lithium prices to graphite's is assumed on the basis that graphite is not fair market value currently and horribly overvalued). If graphite is 'bubbling' then any price uplift to lithium may be perceived to be artificial and unwarranted. So graphite 'bubble' needs to stabilise before lithium and cobalt prices decide to move.
More generally though, cost to build vs kilowatt hours of battery is a huge factor - lithium makes more expensive batteries currently. I've been trying to find some conclusive numbers to see by how much but not turning up as much detail as I would like (surprising imo given Tesla are purportedly open sourcing their IP). I don't want sales guff but some real science before putting up numbers. Another important factor is ability to deep cycle the battery without causing loss to power storage over time. EV batteries need to last 5 to 10 years but phones and little electronics only need a 2 year life or less. For eg, some lithium battery manufacturers don't warrant their product beyond 3 months, which for me is confirmation that they damage very easily compared to other battery formulations.
