The Rise and Fall of an Israeli Electric Car Company

August 21, 2018 Winthrop Free
Electric vehicles charging at the Better Place visitor center at the Pi-Glilot former gas depot in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, north of Tel Aviv (Photo: Bardak/Wikimedia Commons)
Electric vehicles charging at the Better Place visitor center at the Pi-Glilot former gas depot in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, north of Tel Aviv (Photo: Bardak/Wikimedia Commons)

In 2007, at a meeting between a young Israeli entrepreneur, Shai Agassi, Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, and the CEO of Renault and Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, a new company was born. The new company, Better Place, was going to revolutionize the global automotive industry by producing electric vehicles that would eliminate the practical problems of electric powered vehicles.

A Winthrop resident visited the Better Place facilities in Tel Aviv in 2012 and enjoyed driving its Renault-built electric car around the company’s test track. He also witnessed the innovative technology that differentiated Better Place from other electric car wannabes, such as Tesla; he watched as the car’s battery was swapped out and replaced with another fully charged battery in less than 5 minutes. (The more conventional technology of fully recharging an electric car’s depleted battery could take six hours or more.)

But, in 2013, Better Place declared bankruptcy and closed its doors! What went wrong?

If you want hear the story of the rise and fall of Better Place, you are invited to a slide presentation by Burton Figler, at which you can hear his interpretation of what happened. Light refreshments will be provided.

For additional information, call 617-846-1390 or email ttiwinthrop@gmail.com.

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Fact Sheet
When
Tuesday, August 21, 2018, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Where
Temple Tifereth Israel
93 Veterans Rd
Winthrop, MA 02152
Price
Free

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