| Tom Friedman of The New York Times isn't finished | | | | The entrepreneur faces a dilemma. He never knows |
| beating up the Detroit auto companies. In his Dec. 9 | | | | if his vision today will be relevant tomorrow. |
| column, "While Detroit Slept," he likens the idea of a | | | | The very fact that entrepreneurs keep on going in |
| Detroit bailout to pouring billions of dollars into saving | | | | spite of the unknown suggests that the unknown |
| the CD music business at the advent of the iPod and | | | | itself is part of the adventure. |
| iTunes. | | | | The life-threatening dilemma facing Detroit |
| His argument centers around the need to innovate | | | | automakers today suggests that bold visions, risky |
| instead of insulate. | | | | bets - the DNA of entrepreneurial life - were |
| To illustrate his point, Friedman writes about Better | | | | bleached out of the culture. |
| Place, an electric car company start-up based in Palo | | | | Friedman uses Better Place to suggest that anyone |
| Alto, Calif. | | | | with entrepreneurial spunk can seize the moment and |
| Better Place's idea is to offer an electric car | | | | embark on a whole new way of doing things. And |
| infrastructure that includes charging spots, battery | | | | Better Place founder, Shai Agassi, has done just that. |
| switching stations and software that automates it. | | | | His "company is focused on one of this century's |
| "Founded in October 2007 with $200 million in venture | | | | biggest challenges - building a scalable and sustainable |
| funding, Better Place builds electric vehicle networks | | | | personal transportation system that ends oil |
| powered by renewable energy," according to a | | | | dependence," according to the Better Place web site. |
| Better Place press release. "The company is currently | | | | Agassi's vision, if it succeeds, not only holds great |
| working with partners to build electric vehicle | | | | promise. Much like the iPod and iTunes did to the CD |
| infrastructure in Israel, Denmark, Australia and the | | | | music business, his vision could completely up-end the |
| United States." | | | | automobile industry. No wonder Friedman entitled his |
| If fortune favors the bold, then Better Place may | | | | article, "While Detroit Slept." |
| well be a recipient. Their vision is nothing less than | | | | "Do not expect this innovation to come out of |
| audacious. | | | | Detroit," Friedman said. "Remember, in 1908, the Ford |
| "Better Place is committed to delivering transportation | | | | Model-T got better mileage - 25 miles per gallon - |
| as a sustainable service by eradicating the need for | | | | than many Ford, G.M. and Chrysler models made in |
| oil as a fuel source and migrating toward renewable | | | | 2008. But don't be surprised when it comes out of |
| energy," according to the Better Place web site. "By | | | | somewhere else. It can be done. It will be done." |
| leveraging energy from resources such as wind, solar | | | | Knowledge and innovation are like quicksilver. |
| and other carbon free sources, transportation | | | | These days, innovation can happen anywhere, not |
| becomes part of a self-reliant infrastructure that not | | | | just in places like Detroit where the once invincible |
| only reduces the financial impact of our oil addiction, | | | | General Motors set the pace of car innovation for |
| but also improves and protects our environment and | | | | consumers. |
| our health." | | | | "If you have an idea in Detroit or Tennessee," |
| When did you ever hear a CEO of the Big Three | | | | Friedman writes, "Promise me that you'll pursue it, |
| auto companies seize the high ground and inspire us | | | | because someone in Denmark or Tel Aviv will do so |
| with a vision like that? | | | | a second later." |
| Instead, the current thinking from G.M. has been | | | | No one has a lock on new ideas. And, because of |
| more like staying in the same old place rather than | | | | globalization and the success of the Internet, it's |
| taking us to a better one. | | | | easier than ever to put new ideas into motion. We |
| "Bob Lutz, G.M.'s vice chairman... has been quoted as | | | | don't have to wait for once-great companies like G.M. |
| saying that hybrids like the Toyota Prius "make no | | | | to issue edicts. |
| economic sense."", Friedman writes. "And, in February, | | | | Instead of innovating, they insulated; and now they're |
| D Magazine of Dallas quoted him as saying that global | | | | dying. |
| warming "is a total crock of [expletive]," according to | | | | "Under the Better Place model," Friedman writes, |
| Friedman in his Nov. 11 column. | | | | "Consumers can either buy or lease an electric car |
| Why not be audacious? Bold action can spur success | | | | from the French automaker Renault or Japanese |
| from unexpected sources. | | | | companies like Nissan (General Motors snubbed |
| In the early 1970's, Intel reluctantly entered the | | | | Agassi) and then buy miles on their electric car |
| microprocessor business. The company was already | | | | batteries from Better Place the way you now buy an |
| manufacturing memory chips and struggling to meet | | | | Apple cellphone and the minutes from AT&T. |
| demand. | | | | That way Better Place, or any car company that |
| But Robert Noyce, Intel's founder, instinctively | | | | partners with it, benefits from each mile you drive. |
| understood the vast potential of the multi-function | | | | G.M. sells cars. Better Place is selling mobility miles," |
| microprocessor and he urged his managers to | | | | Friedman said. |
| develop it. | | | | |