The dreaded "death spiral" hanging menacingly over the heads of leading utility companies across the globe need not come to pass said Elon Musk this week during a speech at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

 

Speaking to a packed press conference, the enigmatic entrepreneur behind Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX, said that the increasing penetration of electric vehicles, allied to a growing solar sector that sees more and more residences and businesses act as distributed generators, is likely to have a transformative impact on electricity demand.