The world's top automakers are planning to spend nearly $1.2 trillion through 2030 to develop and produce millions of electric vehicles, along with the batteries and raw materials to support that production, according to a Reuters analysis of public data and projections released by those companies.

Automakers have forecast plans to build 54 million battery electric vehicles by 2030, representing more than 50% of total vehicle production, according to the analysis. Elon Musk's Tesla, which is leading the charge, has an audacious plan to build 20 million EVs by 2030, requiring an estimated 3 terawatt-hours of batteries.