# Does Anybody Know Anything About Elio Motors New 3 Wheeled Car? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 18, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223 "2015-08-18T22:47:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/41 "2016-11-01T16:09:30Z")
UPDATE: The end of the year is drawing nigh, [and the Shreveport “factory” still sits empty.](http://www.forbes.com/sites/debraborchardt/2016/10/28/elio-motors-defends-its-delays-to-shreveport-louisiana/#2bf4b4ab6eda) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/42 "2016-11-01T20:10:26Z")
I’ve been kind of following this along… there’s been some approval for the “trimobile” classification of vehicle, so people don’t have to have motorcycle driver’s licenses to drive these. He still doesn’t have enough money or a working motor yet, and no updates on whether it has to pass car emissions or crash safety tests. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/43 "2016-11-02T05:03:52Z")
Does this remind anyone of the “Dale”? > **[Murder And The Price Is Right: The Story Of The Dale Car Hoax](https://jalopnik.com/murder-transsexuals-and-the-price-is-right-the-story-464820740)** > > April Fool’s Day internet browsing is not like every other day. Every story is a probably lie, and for once the normally foolproof policy of believing everything you read on the internet is not recommended. This story is different, though. This is an... > **[Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Century_Motor_Car_Corporation)** > > The Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation was an American automobile company started by Geraldine Elizabeth "Liz" Carmichael, in 1974, incorporated in Nevada. The company's flagship vehicle was the Dale, a prototype three-wheeled two-seater automobile designed and built by Dale Clifft. It was touted as being powered by an 850 cc air-cooled engine and featuring 70 mpg‑US (3.4 L/100 km; 84 mpg‑imp) fuel economy and a $2,000 price (roughly equivalent to $10,000 in 2021), which were popula The comp... Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/44 "2016-11-04T02:08:41Z")
We’ve had several tricycle try to start-em-ups here in Eugene: The not yet now and possibly never [Arcimoto](https://www.arcimoto.com/) and the more interesting and now defunct [Gizmo](http://www.nevco-ev.com/index2.html). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/45 "2016-12-28T15:39:41Z")
Anyone still believing in this? [Late November:](http://gas2.org/2016/11/30/elio-motors-reveals-e1c-prototype-at-la-auto-show/) Latest prototype and official press release at LA Auto Show, _but_ [this flies in the face of a earlier disastrous news-](https://theweeklydriver.com/elio-motors-long-farewell-three-wheel-hype/) > [@](#): > > We have a working capital deficit of $25,769,911 as of September 30, 2016. We had a net loss of $34,787,800 and $13,873,656 for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. > “These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. If we are unable to continue to obtain financing to meet our working capital requirements, we may have to curtail our business sharply or cease operations altogether. Now, I’ve search the internet for news about investors throwing money down the Elio money pit between that depressing press release and their prototype release at the LA Auto Show, but I can’t find anything. The don’t even have a place to make the contraption, [but they’re still taking $7000 pre-orders](http://fortune.com/2016/08/13/elio-motors-pre-orders-autocycle/). WTF? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/46 "2016-12-28T16:11:25Z")
It’s definitely a unicorn. They’ll declare bankruptcy soon and anyone who put money down on it will be shit out of luck. Even if they did put out some units, nothing I’ve read gave me any confidence in the company as far as future service/parts/warranty coverage is concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/47 "2016-12-28T16:48:29Z")
[Morgan](https://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/3-wheeler) have been selling three-wheelers for many years. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/48 "2016-12-29T01:23:37Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > [Morgan](https://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/3-wheeler) have been selling three-wheelers for many years. What’s you point? Lots of companies have produced 3 wheelers. Elio seems to be offering more features than what others have. Elio also appears to be hemorrhaging money and they haven’t sold a single one. Morgan is an established company though not exactly what I would call mainstream. Their 3 wheelers are pretty neat looking but offer no weather protection from what I see. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/49 "2017-06-02T16:49:05Z")
[Update: Still no cars, they are deeper in debt, their supposed manufacturing plant is still full of dust, and people that invested are getting _pissed_.](http://jalopnik.com/louisiana-parrish-that-backed-elio-asks-what-the-hell-i-1794879464) > [@](#): > > As Jalopnik reported earlier this week, Elio filed its latest report with the Securities and Exchange Commission and revealed it needs $376 million to launch production, up from its previous estimated funding requirement of $312 million. > The company only has about $120,000 in the bank and its net loss in 2016 climbed to $52.7 million, up from $22.59 million a year prior, according to the filing. I wonder if any of the 65 thousand plus people [mentioned on their website](https://www.eliomotors.com/) as having prepaid for this electric tricycle have gotten their “free” t-shirts yet? edited to add: If I had one of those t-shirts, I would have “I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS, TOO” printed on the back. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/50 "2017-06-02T17:10:25Z")
I guess that nobody knew that starting a car company would be so difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/51 "2017-06-02T17:17:43Z")
That’s too bad. I followed them for a while on FB. I always hoped they’d get going. I thought it seemed like it would fit a decent sized niche. I could have seen myself driving one. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > I wonder if any of the 65 thousand plus people [mentioned on their website](https://www.eliomotors.com/) as having prepaid for this **electric** tricycle have gotten their “free” t-shirts yet? My bold. It was to have been powered by a plain old internal combustion engine ([cite](https://www.eliomotors.com/features/#details)). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/52 "2017-06-02T17:23:17Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > That’s too bad. I followed them for a while on FB. I always hoped they’d get going. I thought it seemed like it would fit a decent sized niche. I could have seen myself driving one. > My bold. It was to have been powered by a plain old internal combustion engine ([cite](https://www.eliomotors.com/features/#details)). My apologies-you are right. edited to add: Here are the stats pulled from [del]their asses[/del] their website- Fuel-injected, SOHC gas-powered, Variable Valve Lift, 3 cyl., .9 liter, liquid-cooled, automotive engine Front Engine / Front-Wheel Drive 8-Gallon Tank / Targeted 84 MPG (Highway) Standard 5-speed manual or optional automatic manual transmission (AMT) Parking brake Top speed over 100 MPH 0-60 speed in projected 10.8 seconds 55 HP and 55 LB-FT of torque Traction Control, Stability Control 12:1 Compression Regular Unleaded Fuel The Brooklyn Bridge(not really, but it’s just as liable as any other stat on this list). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/53 "2017-06-02T17:55:51Z")
From the article: > [@](#): > > The company has 28 employees currently on payroll, but had to furlough a “significant portion of the engineering, manufacturing, and sales and marketing workforce,” according to the filing, and is focusing its efforts on raising capital by issuing debt and equity offerings. But he said they’ll be ready to start production in 2018. Sure, sounds reasonable! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/54 "2017-06-02T18:04:38Z")
He needs to partner up with someone who _really_ know how to raise money without a finished product to show for it, like maybe Chris Roberts of _Star Citizen_ infamy? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/55 "2017-06-02T18:14:46Z")
[Arcimoto](https://www.arcimoto.com/) looks like they’re closer to actual delivery of a three-wheeled electric. They’ve sold some of the pilot models and have started larger-scale production this year, with expected delivery starting toward the end of the year. I’ll believe it when I see it, but still worth watching if you’re in the market. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/56 "2017-06-02T21:41:43Z")
That looks like it could only be useful in southern climes. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/57 "2017-06-02T22:23:21Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > That looks like it could only be useful in southern climes. Their development and most of the testing has been in Oregon - it’s not Minnesota, but it’s not exactly Los Angeles either. The car has removable siding as an option, and has a heater and defroster, so you can stay warm in it. However, heaters suck up juice in an electric and battery performance drops in cold weather, so it might be challenging for longer commutes up north. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/58 "2017-06-03T19:56:38Z")
> [@Ike Witt](#): > > I guess that nobody knew that starting a car company would be so difficult. Or so expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/59 "2018-05-18T20:04:48Z")
Another Update: [Elio Motors](http://www.ksla.com/story/38167849/elio-motors-ceo-reaffirms-commitment-to-vehicle-production-in-shreveport) is [still in the running](https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1116698_elio-motors-says-it-will-build-production-cars-next-year)…for longcon of the decade, that is. It seems that Overstock dot com has given them $2.5 million(in cryptocurrency), so the new, new, new projected start date is in 76 weeks, plus a few weeks. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223/60 "2022-03-12T02:54:51Z")
I am raising this from the dead, because I’ve always been interesting in watching the very (very!) slow motion trainwreck of Elio Motors and the arguments of it being anything from ambitious to rubbish, to vaporware, to out and out scam. So after quite literally not updating their own website for several years back in 2019 (which even THEN was nothing more then than various flavors of “We are great” and “We’re still delayed” and “We need more money.”) that they are once again claiming they’ll actually have a vehicle . . . just the new twist is that it’ll be all electric AND cost more than twice what the original promised price was. A summary article follows - > **[Elio Motors Returns From the Dead With 3-Wheeled Elio-E EV](https://www.motortrend.com/news/elio-motors-e-electric-vehicle/)** > > Electric autocycles are so hot right now. I chose to rezz the old zombie rather than create a new thread because for people not familiar with Elio, it provides a lot of links and context. So pardon me . . . wait, no … no . . . NO don’t eat my brains!!! Back you foul beast! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-anything-about-elio-motors-new-3-wheeled-car/728223.md?page=4)