Better Place Distance Dash
I’m still in London but yesterday I saw something happen on Twitter that is pretty impressive. Shai Agassi, founder of the electric car service provider Better Place, drove an entire lap of Israel.
He drove 1,150 km or 715 miles in a single day. He left his home on the coast near Tel Aviv. He drove to the border with Lebanon, up to Mount Hermon then all the way south to Eilat and back to his home in the centre of the country.
He started somewhere at home (north Tel Aviv somewhere) with a first tweet at 07:51 (I’m not sure what time zone Twitter is reporting…)
Driving around the whole of Israel today with my father and brother…in an electric car… Stay tuned…
— Shai Agassi (@sagassi) August 19, 2012
He then switched just north of Haifa (I recognise the sign) time stamped 08:15
First switch coming up pic.twitter.com/8idltrYK
— Shai Agassi (@sagassi) August 19, 2012
At 9:41 he tweeted from the border with Lebanon
At the border with Lebanon…one day we will be able to drive to the other side and shake hands… pic.twitter.com/xD38MhyY
— Shai Agassi (@sagassi) August 19, 2012
Next stop, Mount Hermon, the tallest mountain in Israel which he reached at noon 12:00
Noon: tallest mountain in Israel, all the way up north… pic.twitter.com/Ju7bzWYx
— Shai Agassi (@sagassi) August 19, 2012
And then the big drive…. all the way to Eilat which he reached at 19:30
7:30 pm south most point in Israel Eilat… In less time than it takes to charge a single battery… Israel covered pic.twitter.com/C5Qwrefk
— Shai Agassi (@sagassi) August 19, 2012
He then showed his dashboard. 1,000 km covered and if you look to the left, a full battery
1,000 km, electric car, non-stop … Possible only with (battery switch) #Betterplace pic.twitter.com/Yc7edUI9
— Shai Agassi (@sagassi) August 19, 2012
I went to bed, thinking Shai had earned himself a massage and a stay in a 5* Eilat hotel! So imagine my surprise when I see this when I wake up:
Back home… 1,150 km… Round trip around Israel … Same distance as California South – North … #onlyInIsrael pic.twitter.com/UtX5Tkoq
— Shai Agassi (@sagassi) August 19, 2012
Time stamped 00:54. So he travelled 1,150 km or 715 miles in roughly 15 hours. That’s a moving average of 76 kph or 46 mph. All in an electric car just like mine.
No other electric car in the world with any other fast charging technology could do that. Not one. Not even the most expensive in the world.
For 120 years gasoline & liquid fuels have crushed all other forms of transport energy. Yesterday Shai Agassi drove around the whole of Israel in an Electric Car. He had to build the entire infrastructure to do that himself and that is an amazing achievement in four years.
And when I say “by himself” it means he put together an amazing team to help him. Every interaction I’ve had with every employee of Better Place to date has been an example of how to deliver customer service. From every BSS attendant to the people who answer the phones, all have been infused with an enthusiasm and willingness to make the customer happy that is out of the ordinary.
Shai used one or two switch stations that are not open to regular customers but I would guess they’ll be open within a week or two. You won’t have to be the CEO of the company to make this trip in a couple of weeks!
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