The rise of the electric vehicle industry makes a lot of noise underground. In this city. The European lithium company hopes to raise £ 5 million to fund mine construction in Austria. The miner's selling point is a surge in demand for lithium, which in turn is driven by electric car manufacturers using rare metals in batteries. These automakers are becoming more and more fashionable, and there is little more fashionable than Tesla cars. Its shares rose from $27 in 2012 to $280 last year as investors were unhappy with the charm of its sports car and the vision outlined by billionaire chief executive Elon Musk.