What will the world look like 50 years from now? What technology will we have, what will the economy be like, and what will the geopolitical organization look like?
An invitation to speculate. Nice.1) all new cars will be electric. You will be able to get gasoline for your antique Ford Festiva, but it will be difficult to come by and you will have to plan ahead. It will be similar to what happened to vacuum tubes in the middle of the 1900's. 2) self- driving cars will be ubiquitous. It will be similar to what happened to the elevator industry in the early 1900's. 3) home and work charging will be ubiquitous. It will be similar to what happened to the movie theater industry with the advent of TV and VCRs. Highway travel plazas will be repurposed as DC fast charging stations and have more amenities pecs use people will be spending 30 to 40 minutes there. But that's okay, because:4) battery capacity will triple, at least. That means that a car like a Tesla Model S will have a range of 600 miles. Far beyond the bladder range of most people. It will be similar to what happened to the smart phone industry over the past 10 years. 5) with less complexity in the drive train, there will be less need for auto repair facilities. Car dealer networks will have to either change their business models radically or die. It will be similar to what happened to the TV repair industry in the last part of the 1900's. 6) solar energy will be ubiquitous. Most homes and public buildings will have solar panels and storage batteries for overnight. The central grid will not go away, but it will reduce the need for new fossil burning plants. It will be similar to what happened with the telecommunications industry over the past 40 years. 7) having a driver license will be about as useful as having a pilot license is now.