We’ve been hearing about Elio Motors quite a lot recently, even though the company briefly fell off the radar while they were trying to resolve some temporary issues with their production. Now, the work on their first vehicle is underway with full speed, and if all goes well, we should soon see the “car” on the market. Before that happens though, the company still has one major hurdle to overcome – they need to convince the government that a change in classification is needed in order to bring something like this to the market.
The problem lies in the design of Elio’s vehicle. It’s a three-wheeler, which, according to the way the law is worded in many states, would classify it as a motorcycle. And this is not just a matter of technicality – most states require motorcycle drivers to wear a helmet, something which would make little sense for an enclosed vehicle like the one by Elio.
Because of this, the company has been fighting to push new legislation forward on a federal level, creating a new class of vehicles that they want to call “autocycles”, a category under which their first model will fall. If this happens, the company will be able to freely release their vehicle all across the US without having to worry about the convenience of their drivers.
And it seems that they’re well on the way to achieving that goal, as various states have been showing progressive thinking when it comes to this legislation, and seem to be on board with Elio for it. Of course, if they want to push these changes on a federal level, they will need a lot more effort to convince the right people, but in the end, it should be worth it.
Because this release is not just important for Elio themselves, but for the whole auto market and industry. It’s a vehicle with a very real potential to redefine the way we think about our transportation, and it could make personal auto transport available for everyone. The release of the vehicle is not far off either, judging by reports, and all it takes now is for all of Elio’s plans to come together properly without any more hurdles.
The company seems to be handling all difficulties that come their way with professionalism and a devoted attitude. It was reported not long ago that they had run into some problems with their production, but those were resolved relatively quickly, and they were back on track for bringing the model to the market. Hopefully, the law won’t get in their way too much and will allow them to make the release successfully.
” Now, the work on their first vehicle is underway with full speed,”; NOT TRUE. They are MONTHS if not YEARS away from building their FIRST Pre-Production TEST vehicle (1 of 25) needed to just ‘finalize’ their design. PRODUCTION will not happen until they raise over $200 million dollars.
Elio is moving foward and will be on the streets soon
Whoever wrote the article forgot to mention one other major hurdle…. they need another $240 million before they can start production.