As futurist Elon Musk makes a surprise visit to the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, discussing space travel, and he tweets regarding his Hyperloop concept in California putting people’s needs ahead of cars, his electric automotive company, Tesla, is positioned in the middle of a disruptive societal trend. The move from carbon-based engines to electric is one that will transform society, Bernstein benchmarks in a March report. How and when fundamental changes occur is a matter of degrees, but what could be a benchmark for the historic difference might be found in the commodity markets.

Electronic vehicle demand is...

