Free Electric Cars With Project Better Place

Chris Anderson points us to a new venture called Project Better Place which aims to create the largest electric car company in the world. The concept is that you’ll pay for the electricity, not the car. The website says:

Similar to the model of wireless operators and their deployment of cell towers, Project Better Place will deploy a network of charge stations to provide consumers with the ability to keep their electric vehicles (EV) charged and functional at all times. Project Better Place and its partners will also source the electric cars and batteries that will be compatible with the charging network, and will subsidize vehicle costs through leases and credits.

…Electric vehicles will be inherently attractive to consumers because they offer equal performance to traditional cars and are less expensive, while minimizing our environmental footprint.

Anderson comments:

Think razors and blades, or companies giving away free cellphones to lock you into a monthly contract of minutes…”[F]ree” cars make sense: because the purchase price is now a small fraction of their lifetime costs. Shai’s company is taking a bigger view of the business they’re in–rather than selling cars, they’re selling personal transportation, and charging a rate proportional to use. When fuel seemed nearly free compared to price of the car, companies sold cars. Now cars seem nearly free compared to the cost of the fuel. Thus an opportunity for a car company that thinks different.

Project Better Place