Detroit, Silicon Valley, and D.C.—Come Together for EVs, Says CEO of Better Place

“Can the old line in Detroit engineer the electric car revolution or will it come from guys like you?” This was the question on Friday posed by CNBC’s Dennis Kneal to Shai Agassi, CEO of Better Place. Better Place is an electric vehicle company and services provider, who just this past week unveiled their battery changing technology in a Nissan electric SUV. Agassi’s answers evoked a very quick audit of some of the issues on hand in Detroit.

Agassi concedes that “guys like him” are going up against 3 trillion dollars in business at the gas pump, but points out that lower-priced gasoline, lack of incentives seen in other countries, and our own automakers’ financial crisis have made it difficult to plan for fuel alternatives for the future. Policy, business model, and the right manufacturing—these are the things Agassi calls on for the future of electric vehicles in the U.S. See the full interview: