No denying that the easiest is extracted first Mike, but lithium is not hard to access in the way that many fossil fuels are and it's abundant.
I don't think it matters how much cars will use since we already have direct hydrogen power and fuel cell power as proven technologies, the latter already working down to very small battery sizes. Therefore lithium doesn't need to last long as it's already scheduled for replacement.
In fact the constant annual putting back of the launch of lithium powered cars has enabled hydrogen vehicles not only to catch up but pass battery types, with hydrogen powered buses in service at various points in the world including some in London. There have already been at least three viable hydrogen powered e-bikes, one of those even being privately built, showing how accessible this technology is. That privateer's 30 mph and over 50 mile range is better than lithium batteries do.
All we need is the nuclear power stations to generate the necessary electricity and we can see direct and indirect hydrogen use and lithium batteries in place side by side, with hydrogen able to take over at will. Since we are at long last starting to move on nuclear power and other parts of the world are more willing than us, I don't think we should have too gloomy a view of prospects, for ourselves at least.
Whether others like China sleepwalk the world into global climate change meltdown is in the lap of the gods, whatever will be, will be. I know no absolute reason why the human race or even biological life itself should necessarily persist.
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