WaiveCar

WaiveCar was an all-electric car-sharing service with an unusual twist: the rides were free to users because the cars carried digital advertising. Renters got a window of free driving time in an electric vehicle wrapped or screened with ads, and advertisers footed the bill, with the company earning from the ad placements rather than per-mile fees. It was founded by Zoli Honig and Isaac Deutsch, who pitched it as a way to make short electric trips accessible while turning vehicles into mobile ad space.

The founders entered Season 9 with an unusually low equity ask, seeking 500,000 dollars for just 2 percent, signaling confidence in a high valuation. Kevin O'Leary engaged with the advertising-funded model and made a deal. The structure was characteristically O'Leary, built largely around a loan with interest plus a small equity piece and terms tied to ad inventory, rather than a simple cash-for-equity swap.

The concept stood out for flipping the rental model on its head. Free-to-drive electric cars paid for by advertising was a fresh angle on both mobility and media, and the low equity ask made it one of the more attention-grabbing valuations of the episode. It captured the moment's optimism about electric car-sharing in dense cities.

WaiveCar continued operating its electric car-sharing program for a stretch after the show, including a notable presence tied to a Southern California university campus. But the model was operationally heavy, and the company hit serious obstacles, including an insurance problem that disrupted a key program around the start of 2020.

The pandemic finished the job. With city mobility collapsing in 2020, WaiveCar could not sustain operations and effectively shut down. As of 2026 it is no longer in business. The founders moved on to other companies in mobility and media, so WaiveCar is best remembered as an inventive idea undone by the cost of running a fleet and by bad timing.