The cost of building an electric truck will always be more expensive when compared to a truck running on a traditional combustion engine, according to Martin Daum, CEO of Germany-based Daimler Truck. The high price of critical materials needed to build electric trucks makes the vehicle more expensive, Daum said in an interview with FT. Considering an entire combustion engine costs €25,000 ($27,458), “how much battery do you get for €25,000? Even if [battery costs fall to] €60 per kilowatt-hour, and I need 400-kilowatt hours, then I need €24,000 alone for the battery cells [in a single truck],” Daum said. It would be up to the government to implement steps to narrow the difference between an electric truck and a combustion engine equivalent, he said. Without subsidies, the price of the electric version will “forever be higher.” The Daimler CEO called for slapping a tax on carbon to minimize cost …