Nobody was better poised to make Green EV Operation a success than Yosef Abramowitz, but the Better Place takeover in Israel failed because of the liquidator and Ministry of Transportation’s lack of cooperation.
Otherwise known as “Captain Sunshine,” Abramowitz had such a beautiful vision for the electric vehicle company. Instead of perpetuating a capitalist ethos that rewards exclusivity and a hoarder mentality, the Kibbutznik from Boston was poised to create a national green transportation infrastructure that would support all electric vehicles.
We wrote about the news when Abramowitz and the Association for the Advancement of Electric Transport in Israel won the bid to absorb Better Place’s assets, and we couldn’t help but feel giddy about the idealism with which the solar energy guru infused his takeover bid.
It would have been grand, and Israeli would have been a better place for it, but both the liquidator and the Ministry of Transportation made it virtually impossible for Green EV Operation to raise the cash necessary to make its montly $1 million payment to the liquidator – JTA reports.
The Ministry of Transport wouldn’t allow Abramowitz to collect 350 new Better Place cars from port until he purchased an import license, and the liquidator failed to provide a list of drivers to bill for the 10,000 or so battery swaps that took place in the short time that the Captain was in charge.
“To this day neither the cars were released nor was there a functioning database from which to bill users,” Abramowitz told JTA. “This not only killed our cash position but was the deathblow for investor confidence in our business model.”
Instead, after Sunday’s deadline for a $1 million payment came and went, Tzachi Merkur, CEO of Success Parking purchased the company for $3 million, according to JTA.
Let’s hope that this rather unglamorous new takeover isn’t the end of a spectacular dream.
:: JTA
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
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Abramowitz had no idea what he was doing and greatly misrepresented his position and abilities to the court. He wants to blame everyone but he himself is to blame. His failure had little to do with Transportation Ministry intransigence or the billing system. Really sad reporting. This new bid will most likely also fail.