Forget about the hybrid auto — Shai Agassi says it’s electric cars or bust if we want to impact emissions. His company, Better Place, has a radical plan to take entire countries oil-free by 2020.
Carlos Ghosn, CEO and President of Renault of France and Nissan of Japan, said:
“Hybrid cars are like mermaids. When you want a fish, you get a woman. And when you need a woman, you get a fish.”
Shai Agassi, who used to be the heir apparent at SAP AG and whom I had the privilege to meet in person three times, wants to put you behind the wheel of an electric car — but he doesn’t want you to sacrifice convenience (or cash) to do it.
Shai’s business model falls under what I call the “Land of Free” category where doing something makes more sense than ownership. On the other side of the scale, you can find the “Highland of Premium,” where owndership (or having something) and experience count.
For more ideas on the different business models, check out my post:
I still think we are a million miles away from a practical solution. You might enjoy this:
http://caughtinthemiddleman.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/739/
Thanks for leaving me a comment.
Well, you got a point there, but from the way I see things, your “7 well-publicised downsides” can all be covered by Shai Agassi’s vision of mass-produced electric cars from Better Place.
You can see if Shai’s proposition is feasible or not by watching and listening closely to his speech before the TED audience.
Once again, thank you.
Cheers,
Lovely aka “Adam”
I think Agassi does a great job of addressing the sort of issues naysayers like Middleman raise (although I also assume Middleman is being somewhat sarcastic). This is a very well thought through proposal from Better Place (and an excellent video).
I have blogged about it several times over the past few months (see: http://internationalbs.wordpress.com/ ).
Thanks, Andre, for leaving your digital footprint on my virtual sand.
Read your trail of coverage of Better Place and the future of electric cars. Great read!
Thanks for your interest and kind comment.
Have a great day. Take care.