Is Better Place Going The Solyndra Way?

It was officially announced that Better Place founder Shai Agassi has quit the board of Better Place, following his departure as chief executive last week.

This move triggers major concerns that Better Place would not be able to make it. According to the Guardian, Mr. Agassi left Better Place following his replacement by Mr. Evan Thornley as the CEO of the company. Thornley preciously ran Better Place in Australia.

According to insiders, Better Place is planning to lay off half its staff in order to battle its cash-flow problem.
Better Place has stations installed in the USA, Israel and Australia. The company was also planning to build an infrastructure in Denmark. Better Place reportedly secured a €50 million loan from the European Investment Bank in August 2012.

Due to its collaboration with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Better Place operates stations in Israel with Renault Fluence Z.E models. Owners of these cars are able to change deplete batteries in their cars for fully charged ones. This reduces the process to a few minutes, which would be closer to the time it takes to refuel a petrol car.

But will it enough? Or will it go down the Solyndra way?