Electricity is not especially cheap compared to jet fuel.
Jet Fuel has about 128kBTU/gal and is available around $2/gal, so 64kBTU/$.
Electricity is about 3400BTU/kWhr and a kWhr is about $0.05, or about 68kBTU/$.
Jet Fuel has about 128kBTU/gal and is available around $2/gal, so 64kBTU/$.
Electricity is about 3400BTU/kWhr and a kWhr is about $0.05, or about 68kBTU/$.
Fuel costs are about 35%[1] of operating costs, so only a ~20% cost reduction is possible for fuel change, so your point is still mostly valid.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_engine#Energy_efficiency
[2] http://www.ajc.com/news/business/airlines-keep-adapting-to-h...
But then batteries store 1% the energy per mass fuel does so even assuming triple the efficiency, the energy storage is 30 times easier (assuming everything else stays constant which it can't because now your craft is an order of magnitude heavier and your short-haul plane is as heavy as a 747)
Musk has said several times that if he wasn't working on space and EVs, he'd be working on hyperloop or electric planes. Wonder what potential he sees in the latter.