Mr. Agassi Goes to Washington

While we just spoke to Shai Agassi inside the beltway, the Project Better Place founder and CEO was back on Capitol Hill yesterday to testify before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming. The hearing's topic was “$4 Gasoline and Fuel Economy: Auto Industry at a Crossroads” and Agassi explained to the committee of representatives that “the electrification of the automobile is inevitable.” At first Agassi raised some Congressional eyebrows when he explained he wanted to offer electric cars for free. But by the end Chairman Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) concluded by saying “I couldn't agree with you more.” Agassi said that for a “mere” $100 billion, or the equivalent of two months of U.S. oil imports, we could build the necessary infrastructure to support an electrified fleet — $80 billion of which... [read full story]