Most automakers have now committed to electrifying their fleets. That’s brought growing attention to batteries, which still make up about a third of the cost of an electric car, and led to multibillion-dollar valuations of secretive startups . All well and good for battery chemists who get large sums of money to pursue wild scientific ideas that may lead to major breakthroughs. But when secrecy and early-technology risk collide with public markets, it can spell trouble. That’s what happened to QuantumScape Corp. last week, when Scorpion Capital published a 188-slide report calling the company a “scam.” Scorpion has a short position on QuantumScape, which means it’s betting on the company’s stock price to decline. QuantumScape is one among a growing crop of solid-state battery companies that are promising a leap in performance over current lithium-ion technology. The industry is extremely secretive. It’s not just about holding tightly to proprietary […]