 Formula E promoter Alejandro Agag sought di Grassi's technological expertise as a driver to develop the series' electric race car.He was initially dubious as he was not convinced that electric car racing would be exciting but reconsidered after hearing its socially-oriented goal to develop attractive environmentally friendly vehicles.A year later, di Grassi was announced as the official test driver for Formula E. He first tested the prototype Formula E car, called Formulec, at Circuit de L'Eure near Paris in August 2012, and was heavily involved in the development of the vehicle.