SAN FRANCISCO-- While most of this week's Web 2.0 Summit has centered on trying to find business models that work in today's slumping economy, two of the most exciting ventures are also the least affordable--at least for now.
Those two companies are Tesla Motors and Shai Agassi's Better Place. The two have completely different business models, but are joined by the idea that gasoline vehicles are something that will not last. Tesla, which is the creation of PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, is creating expensive sports cars that run off nothing more than electricity--and a large bank account to afford the six-figure cost of the vehicle. Meanwhile, Agassi's Better Place is aiming to change the paradigm in the automobile industry to the point where everything is electric; instead of filling up at gas stations, we'll simply be getting our batteries swapped out in less time than it would take to go through a car wash.
Both Musk and Agassi, who spoke at separate sessions Friday at the conference, face huge financial hurdles on the way to seeing their visions become as ubiquitous as the business models they're trying to replace. In Musk's case it's infrastructure as much as it is improving the actual technology.
Tesla's current model, which is a two-door roadster, costs consumers in excess of $100,000, and the company cannot produce them fast enough. The waiting list, which is currently at a little over 1,200 people, matches that of Tesla's current yearly production. "We're making 1,200 a year," said Musk, "and eventually 1,500 a year."
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SAN FRANCISCO--In an interview with John Heilemann at the Web 2.0 Summit here today, Kleiner-Perkins VC John Doerr, formerly a Hilary Clinton supporter, relayed the technology advice he would have for President-elect Obama.
As Heilemann noted, Obama has announced that he will look at appointing a chief technology officer to the United States. He asked Doerr about that, and unsurprisingly, Doerr thought it was a "great idea, long overdue."
John Doerr at Web 2.0 Summit
(Credit: CNET Networks / Josh Lowensohn)And who would be a good choice for the job? Doerr recommended, "Bill Joy. Or if not Bill Joy, then inventor Danny Hillis." Doerr said he would miss Bill Joy from the Kleiner-Perkins team, but he seemed willing to make the sacrifice.
Doerr said the top three things this new CTO should focus on are energy, green technology, and "more basic research."
"The most important thing," Doerr said, that Obama needs to do is, "kick-start a huge amount of innovation and research in energy."
"We invest less than a billion dollars a year in energy, compared to $32 billion in health care." About energy, he said, "It's the challenge for the generation, it's the scourge of the economy."
Of course, a very big part of technology advancement is education. So, Doerr said, "I would create a specific program to double the number of engineers we graduate in the U.S. from 30,000 a year to 60,000." India, he said, graduates 300,000 engineers a year.
Also, regarding foreign students educated in the U.S., we should, "staple a green card to the diploma of anybody who graduates with a degree in the physical sciences in the U.S."
Finally, he'd like to see DARPA restored to pure research, and move its focus off of "mission-based" projects.
Doerr also relayed 11 things entrepreneurs need to do in this economy. It was the same list he gave at a Venture Beat conference last month, with this addition: Cut once. Cut deeper than you think you need to, but only do it once.
See below for video, split into two segments, of Doerr's appearance (courtesy of TechWeb):
Video: Doerr on energy, R&D, a federal CTO, and more.
Video: Doerr on start-ups and the economy
The Web 2.0 Summit--a conference of the Silicon Valley digiterati--seems to have changed its theme from "monetize the Web" to "save the world."
Tim O'Reilly, one of the Web 2.0 Summit organizers, on Monday posted a blog with details on the fifth edition of the conference coming up in November and its Launchpad event for start-ups.
The concept is to break out of the Web-only worldview and see if the ideals of the Web, like collective intelligence and innovation, can be applied to the world's woes.
"In an era of looming scarcities, economic disruption, and the possibility of catastrophic ecological change, it's time for us all to wake up, to take our new 'superpowers' seriously, and to use them to solve problems that really matter," O'Reilly wrote.
For its Launchpad event, the conference organizers are looking for start-ups in alternative energies, social entreprenuerialism, microfinance, developing economies, political action, and renewable technologies. Crossover with the Web is a bonus, but not a requirement, O'Reilly said.
The overall conference's theme is "The Opportunity of Limits," or finding business opportunity in social and environmental challenges.
As someone who attended the 2006 Launchpad and left somewhat underwhelmed, I applaud the shift in focus.
Some of the best entrepreneurial opportunities are in energy and environment-oriented technologies. And I agree when the organizers say that the Web can play a substantial role in addressing real social problems and divisions.
"Increasingly, the leaders of the Internet economy are turning their attention to the world outside our industry. And conversely, the best minds of our generation are turning to the Web for solutions," wrote John Battelle, president of Federated Media Publishing and a conference organizer.
So the Internet may be maturing and the nature of innovation broadening. But it's still exciting.
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