The Tesla-led electric car revolution is just getting started. Investors have a terrific opportunity to get involved early and profit immensely over the coming years.

Within two decades, it is expected that electric cars will outsell fossil-fuel powered cars. As the price of lithium-ion batteries continues falling, and the infrastructure of fast-charging stations for electric cars continues to be built up at an accelerating pace, demand for electric cars will surge around the world.

Governments are moving forward with ambitious electric vehicle plans in order to reduce their reliance on petroleum and generate fewer emissions. India and Germany are committed to selling only electric cars by 2030, and so are Britain and France by 2040. Norway has a target of 2025 for completely banning gasoline cars.

China is already the world’s largest electric vehicle market, and the sale of electric vehicles in China is expected to increase over the years as a percentage of the total number of vehicles sold in that vast market.

Many countries have added charging stations to their networks. It has also been popular for governments to introduce incentives for electric vehicles to promote higher electric car usage.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance makes the following projections about electric cars:

     •   Electric cars will be as cheap as gasoline cars by 2025.

     •   Electric car sales will surpass internal combustion engine sales by 2038.

     •   Battery manufacturing capacity will triple over the next four years.  

     •   Lithium-ion batteries will cost just $73/kWh by 2030, down from $1000/kWh in 2010.

     •   Graphite demand will rise to 852,000 tons a year in 2030, up from 13,000 tons in 2015.

     •   Nickel and aluminum demand from electric vehicles will rise to 327,000 a year in 2030, up from 5,000 tons in 2015.

     •   The production of lithium, cobalt, and manganese will each increase more than 100-fold.

     •   In Europe, 67% of new cars sold will be electric by 2040, and 58% of the new cars in the United States and 51% in China.

The transition from gasoline cars to electric cars has just begun. Propelled by the recent drop in lithium-ion battery prices, countries are now moving at a fast pace and are eager to take advantage of the benefits that electric vehicles offer. This presents a golden opportunity for investors to get in early and profit from a fast-growing technology trend.