Electric boat startup Arc wants to make a big splash
Electricity and water don’t mix — well, actually, they mix really well, which can be problematic for humans. So the thought of an electric boat may seem risky. A new California startup called Arc is going to try to shred that perception, starting with a limited edition 24-foot watersports boat that will cost around $300,000.
That’s an incredible amount of money. But Arc — which is coming out of stealth mode today, boasts a handful of SpaceX expats, and is backed by Silicon Valley powerhouse firm Andreessen Horowitz — plans to work its way down from that price point once it’s producing and selling boats, just like Tesla once did for electric passenger cars with the Roadster, followed by the Model S and X, and then the Model 3 and Y.
Electric boats have far fewer moving parts, meaning that they should deal a big blow to maintenance costs, one of the biggest headaches of owning a boat. What’s more, electricity can be much cheaper than marina fuel prices, and trickle charging a boat at home makes far more sense than doing it with a car. While Arc’s first boat may not reach total parity with a gas-powered boat, that’s the goal, and Arc CEO Mitch Lee thinks it’s readily attainable.
