Subscription Model May Pave Way for Electric Car Boom

An Israeli entrepreneur bets you’ll be willing to pay to fuel up your car like you pay your monthly cell phone bill. If Shai Agassi is right, Jim Motavalli writes in Yale Environment 360, it could be the charge electric cars need to succeed. Partnering with nations, cities, and automakers, his Better Place is trying to establish infrastructure for an electric-powered automotive future.

Agassi envisions a network of charging stations in congested areas, and ones that allow you to trade in depleted batteries on long trips—though current batteries are large and difficult to swap. And for his concept to work, he’ll need to raise a lot of money—$1 billion alone for a proposed charging network in the San Francisco Bay area.