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When consent becomes illusion, a relational approach can expose a dynamic of persuasion by adaptation. By raising $650 million in 2007–2008, the start-up Better Place proved the persuasion skills of its founder. Its failure is a great reminder of the difference between two abilities: to persuade and to exercise real influence. Using sociocognitive theories, we seek to highlight the mechanisms that cause an individual to disseminate to opinion leaders a collective representation of a new activity. By describing these mechanisms, we shed light on the obstacles to transforming collective representations into economic reality, and we emphasize how influence without commitment leads to nothing more than a phenomenon of adaptation.