Shai Agassi thinks it's only right, considering how much consumers spend on gas, that automakers give cars away for free. His argument: Detroit is in the business of selling razors when they should be selling the blades.
"Put it this way, if you are driving around and gasoline costs an arm and a leg, doesn't it seem fair that somebody should give the car away for free? . . . It's the mobile phone business model" where profits can be generated through usage fees, said Agassi, CEO of Better Place, a company that is developing an electric car network in Israel and Denmark.
Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Agassi warned the world economy, not to mention Detroit, could face a dire predicament if there isn't a fundamental shift from oil in the near-term future.
"It's not just the issue of how much we're paying [for gas] today . . . We have 30 to 45 days of oil reserves -- what do we do on day 46? . . . This is a strategic initiative for the U.S. It's an economic change of immense proportion."
