What we can learn from the electric vehicle shakeout
GigaOM Pro analyst Adam Lesser looks forward to what lessons can be learned from some of the recent struggles of the electric car startups.
Project Better Place
Advertisement
Report: Better Place to file for bankruptcy
If Better Place files for bankruptcy in a few days, as reported by Fortune, it would represent a sober end to a high-flying dream that raised hundreds of millions of dollars.
The art of the spectacular and public crash and burn
The headline-blaring, jaw-dropping tech company crash and burn doesn’t happen all that often. But when it does, you can count on there being some similarities in leadership, transparency, and hype.
Shai Agassi says he still believes in the Better Place model
In the same week that Better Place has exited the U.S. and Australia to focus on Israeli and Denmark, Better Place founder and former CEO Shai Agassi says he still believes in the business model of swappable batteries and subscriptions for electrons.
Advertisement
Shocker: An electric car company actually meets production goals (and yes, it’s Tesla)
In contrast to the bulk of the electric car companies and vendors out there, Tesla actually reaches its planned production run rate of its Model S electric car. This is its path to profitability and mainstream auto status.
Better Place CEO departs, following Shai Agassi’s exit
Better Place is once again changing up its CEO, and after three months at the helm, Evan Thornley is stepping down. Founder and former CEO Shai Agassi stepped down in October, amid mounting losses and slow uptake of the electric car service.
Advertisement
Electric car startup Coda laying off 50
Yet another electric car startup is having trouble. Coda Automotive is laying off 50 employees — or 15 percent of staff — after a delayed launch, slow sales, and a car recall. The bad news follows Better Place layoffs, and A123 System’s bankruptcy.
As electric car experiments fumble, Tesla is last man standing
Three companies that made aggressive bets on the future of electric cars — A123 Systems, Fisker Automotive and Better Place — are now facing major problems financially and commercially.
Advertisement
Better Place raising $100M more in the wake of Agassi departure
Electric car charging startup Better Place continues to raise money from its investors — particularly Israel Corp — as it seeks to finish building out its networks in Denmark and Israel. The company is raising another $100 million on top of its previously raised $750 million.
Shai Agassi steps down as CEO of Better Place
The CEO of electric vehicle charging company Better Place, Shai Agassi, will step down as CEO and is being replaced with Evan Thornley, formerly the CEO of Better Place Australia. The company needs to make money and the initial roll out has been slow.
Advertisement
Better Place raises $50M loan from European Investment Bank
Electric car charging startup Better Place has raised another $50 million, this time in the form of a loan from European Investment Bank. The company has raised a whopping $800 million, mostly in equity to get its charging networks built out in Denmark and Israel.
While 2011 cleantech investing grew, later stage dominated
Cleantech venture capital and corporate investing for the full 2011 year was up in terms of overall dollar amounts compared to 2010, according to the research firm The Cleantech Group, but large follow-on rounds for matured companies continued to dominate the year.
Better Place raises $200M, boasts $2.25B valuation
Better Place, which hopes to build an empire of electric car charging and battery swapping stations, said Friday it has closed a $200 million funding that will bring the company’s valuation to $2.2 billion.
China: Now the land of cleantech capital
China has long been perceived as the must-tackle market for clean power and cleantech, but it’s also become a spigot of private capital for startups that find the marriage of money and market opportunity particularly appealing.
A clean-powered Better Place in Israel falls victim to environmentalists
Better Place’s network in Israel won’t be powered by much clean power at launch, CEO Shai Agassi tells me. That’s because Israel is caught up in the same battle that many clean power projects in the U.S. have faced: opposition to transmission lines.
Flush With Cash: Fisker Adds Yet Another $100M
Electric car maker Fisker Automotive has already raised over $1 billion in equity, loans and grants. And yet, the company, which will be launching its first inaugural electric car this summer, has raised another $100 million. That’s on top of the $190 million which recently closed.
Better Place Plugs Into the Chinese Power Grid
Electric vehicle battery-switching evangelist Better Place is digging deeper into the world’s biggest electric car market to come — China.
PHOTOS: Better Place Gearing Up for Israel Launch
Electric car infrastructure startup Better Place has spent the past three years talking about its vision of selling electric car miles like cell phone minutes, accompanied by a network of chargers and battery swap stations. Now it’s getting ready to deliver in Israel.
Better Place Prices Driving Plan in Denmark
The closely-watched electric vehicle project Better Place has finally announced its first pricing in Denmark in advance of a launch of the service in the fourth quarter of this year. Now we’ll have to wait to see if consumers actually find the offer attractive.
Report: Cut Battery Costs out of the Electric Vehicle Equation
Cutting the battery cost out of owning an electric vehicle could be a key way to push electric vehicles into the mass market, according to a report from consulting giant Accenture.
Greentech Generated 4 of 5 Largest VC Deals in 2010
Greentech startups captured four out of the five biggest U.S. venture capital rounds last year — and if it weren’t for Twitter, they might have landed all five.
Electric Vehicles to Hit Bay Area via Better Place, City CarShare
Two projects that will bring electric vehicles to Bay Area residents in indirect ways — taxis and car-sharing — were unveiled today. It’s not unusual for alternative vehicles to make it first to these types of ecosystems before they become mainstream via consumer purchases.
Where Tesla & Better Place Don’t Agree
Tesla and Better Place might seem like swell partners, given the EV startup connection, but think again. A Tesla VP says the companies look at batteries fundamentally differently.
Better Place Goes Down Under to Electrify Australia
Better Place announced this afternoon that it is heading Down Under to deploy its electric car infrastructure in Australia. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup is working with Australian utility AGL Energy to build an electric car charging grid powered by renewable energy. Macquarie Capital Group will finance the AUD$1 billion ($671 million) undertaking.
Renault to Electrify French Cars by 2011
Automaker Renault announced today it has teamed up with French utility EDF to build a huge electric vehicle infrastructure, starting in France, with the goal of making electric cars a viable and attractive option by 2011.
Renault Shows Off the Super-Efficient Z.E. Concept
Auto shows can be like fashion shows, where the designers bring out both their bread-and-butter designs, as well as things more fanciful. Debuting at the Paris Auto Show that starts this weekend, Renault’s Z.E. Concept car seems to be a little of both
Back to School for Web Workers
Although most of us on the web working front have been out of school for at least a few years, this is…
Project Better Place Pitches British PM
Shai Agassi’s worldwide whirlwind tour pushing his Project Better Place electric car infrastructure startup shows no signs of stopping, now the Independent…
Project Better Place Portugal Bound
First it was “Shalom,” then “Goddag,” and perhaps very soon “Olá” for Shai Agassi’s electric vehicle infrastructure startup, Project Better Place, which…
Four Free, Slick Mini Apps
With many software applications as bloated as they are these days, I still favor many tiny applications that I can get in…
Mr. Agassi Goes to Washington
While we just spoke to Shai Agassi inside the beltway, the Project Better Place founder and CEO was back on Capitol Hill…
Nissan Electrifying Japan — Where's Project Better Place?
Nissan is taking a multiprong approach to its electric car strategy, signing on to supply cars and batteries for Project Better Place…
Open Thread: Your Biggest Web Working Blunder
Working on the web is great – except when it’s not. One of the areas where our way of work is a two-edged sword is in accountability. When you do something great, it’s easy to get the credit, because you aren’t just one of an anonymous herd in an office. But when you mess something up, it’s equally easy to get the blame. And given the nature of the tools we use, opportunities to make mistakes are always around.
Shai Agassi on How to Electrify America's Cars
[qi:_earth2tech]
Shai Agassi on How to Electrify America's Cars
Can Shai Agassi’s electric vehicle infrastructure startup Project Better Place tackle the U.S.? The well-funded startup has only done deals with small…
Open Thread: What's Your Web Working Pain Point?
Most of us are web workers because we enjoy it. Whether it’s the feel of being on the cutting edge of technology,…
Nissan Aiming for World Domination of Zero-Emission Cars
The race to develop and market environmentally friendly cars is getting fiercer. As the price of gasoline hits record heights and people…
Project Better Place Shows Off Electric Car
The Silicon Valley electric car startup Project Better Place showed off a prototype for its electric vehicle in Israel this weekend, and…
Calling Israel's Green Entrepreneurs: Israeli Fund Closes $75M
Hey Israel’s green-leaning innovators, Israel Cleantech Ventures, a firm focused on funding green technology innovations in Israel, said this morning that it’s…
The GigaOM Show: Jeremy Allaire
Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire joined me (subbing for Om) and co-host Joyce Kim on the GigaOM Show this week. Hear him talk…
Web Worker Daily Interviews GTD author David Allen, Part One on Health & Stress
Are uou overworked? Are you feeling tense and stressed out? Then you need to read The Web Worker Daily interview with Getting…
ZaReason dropz ZaCloudbook
Wow, when it rains, it pours. After at least three delays of the Cloudbook debut, at least one reseller has packed it…
Alpha version of Pointui supports VGA on Windows Mobile 5, 6
Some of the recent and new Windows Mobile in the news haven’t fared so well with VGA devices. While I’m certain there’s…
The missing MacBook Air photo
The 7 duplicate posts were the fault of connectivity errors posting from the HTC Advantage in the Apple store. I was getting…
Impressions of the Intel MIDs
We gave you a very blurry look at the interesting MIDs that Intel was showing off last night at Digital Experience and…
JK’s Mobile Tech Predictions for 2008
The end of 2007 is nigh and we geeks are casting our eyes to the future to figure out what mobile goodness…
Founders Fund Has $220 MM To Invest
The Founders Fund has a raised a new $220 million fund, their second. They will invest in 15-to-20 early stage start-ups, they announced…
SOLD- Fujitsu P1610 Tablet PC with full kit
UPDATE: the Fujitsu has been sold. Thanks for all the offers. You are no doubt familiar with my coverage of the Fujitsu…
Movie Viewing Meets MMOs
Earlier this year, the managers of popular MMO Gaia Online tried an experiment: they streamed George Romero’s horror classic (and public domain)…
Verizon picks LTE for 4G network, good-bye CDMA
Well, well, well… isn’t it interesting that following the “Any Devices, Any Apps” announcement, Verizon has chosen LTE for their 4G network…
Idiot Alert: Man sues Apple for ‘bricking’ iPhone
Where high profiles and high profits exist, so do the scum of the earth. First, Dongmei Li sues Apple for $1 million…
Vid-Biz: TiVo, Wangyou, Legos
TiVo Releases Top Shows Season Passes; Bionic Woman and Private Practice are the only new shows to crack the Top 50. (release)…
Vid-Biz: DivX, Microsoft, YouTube
Yahoo and DivX Enter Into Partnership; deal replaces DivX’s Google deal, users who download DivX video tools will be offered a co-branded…
Taser Incident Sparks Uproar
YouTube is once again at the center of a political and cultural firestorm, as video of a University of Florida student being…
The big Google Maps Mobile/ Windows Live Search showdown
Google Maps Mobile (GMM) is an extremely popular program. Absolutely everyone uses GMM at one point or another because it’s so easy…
Podcast Producer: The Little-Known Leopard Application
I went into Apple’s Leopard Server site and noticed a feature that seems out of place — something that should belong in…
Oh yeah, you can talk on them too
Cell Phones, have evolved so quickly from the late 1990s when they looked like ugly plastic bricks and had sound quality of…
London, the wireless city
This month London is ranked first on JiWIre’s Top 10 WiFi Cities List for having the greatest number of Hotspot locations, followed…
Skype Talkin’
Andy says a cottage industry will mushroom around Skype’s API, but ass the question, will anyone make money? Engadget has yet another…
Orlowski’s Ouch Factor
There are no holy cows for Andrew Orlowski of The Register. In his latest missive filed from CTIA, he takes on HSDPA,…
WiMAX versus VoIP
Whose hype is the hypest? I would let you ponder that question as you soak your body in alcohol this weekend, and…
09/20/2004 Random Bytes
Muniwireless: UK train operator GNER says its Wi-Fi service on trains between London and Scotland has proven popular with customers. Why all…
Review: Andy Kessler’s Running Money
I got to know Andy about two years ago, and discovered that we have both sometimes cynical, ironic and bemused view of…
