To be fair: it also concentrates poorly (there are no "lithium veins"), making extraction comparatively expensive in relation to common metals. So there's a real problem to be solved here. But it's not a "shortage" and we won't "run out".
The other components of Lithium battery chemistries, however, tend to be much rarer. Most (by kWh capacity) manufactured battery chemistries today are dependent on cobalt, which is a rare earth with some finite quantity of reserves that absolutely can "run out". Some manufacturers (Tesla in particular) seem to be having some success moving off that and onto nickel chemistries. We'll see.
Cobalt is not a rare earth. And cobalt is also not particularly rare either. For a long time there was just not much need for cobalt and the mines in Congo were cheap, but nobody bother to develop other mines.
However there are at least 4 huge nickel/cobalt mines being developed in Canada. More then that in Australia. And more other places too.
Moving of cobalt to more nickel, iron or manganese is clearly the path forward however.
Lithium is the trickiest part to scale since is practically acts more like a complex chemical then a commodity metal. Each 'mine' is highly costume in the form it lithium arrives at and the process needed. And the resulting chemicals are not commodities but rather have to be qualified with each manufactures.
I would say lithium of the quality needed is the closest to a real supply issue. Gravity is after that even if its something people don't think about much. Nickel is not exactly rare but the problem is that the current nickel production growth is very dirty.
There is an exceptionally large cobalt mine in Missouri that should have more output than the African mines within the next year or two if geologists are to be believed.
Cobalt is also used in the oil industry as a catalyst to remove sulfur from fuel. This happens in rather large quantities and the cobalt tends to have rather dubious origins as well. At least with batteries we get to recycle the cobalt, lithium and other materials, eventually. They are not permanently lost. Even our waste deposits actually contain rather large amounts of rare earths. Once they get rare enough, we'll be mining our own waste.
Economics basically push us in the right direction. Hard to source metals drive up the price and give a cost advantage to batteries that don't require them. That's already happening with Tesla. The same dynamic is pushing people away from oil before we've run out of it because it is getting more expensive over time.
The other components of Lithium battery chemistries, however, tend to be much rarer. Most (by kWh capacity) manufactured battery chemistries today are dependent on cobalt, which is a rare earth with some finite quantity of reserves that absolutely can "run out". Some manufacturers (Tesla in particular) seem to be having some success moving off that and onto nickel chemistries. We'll see.