Elio Motors has raised funds for manufacturing its forthcoming three-wheeled commuter vehicle in a few innovative ways, including Regulation A+ stock offerings. Its latest creative funding is through its reservation system. Anyone who puts down money for an “All In” nonrefundable reservation for an Elio has the base price of their vehicle locked in at $7,300.
The wording is a bit tricky, so follow along: The locked-in price is for nonrefundable reservations made after August 12 and will apply until there are 65,000 total reservations made — refundable and nonrefundable alike. There are currently more than 58,000 reservations for the three wheeler on the books, so there are fewer than 7,000 to go until that target is hit.
Also, anyone who chooses the nonrefundable reservation will get an additional 25% of their reservation amount applied to the purchase of their Elio. So if you reserve an Elio for $1000, you’ll get another $250 applied at the point of sale.
Elio Motors is hoping this reservation target number of 65,000 will help with its Department of Energy Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan application. This program assists manufacturers of vehicles that meet “specified fuel economy requirements,” which is likely not the Elio’s sticking point. It is expected to get 84 mpg.
Since last year, Elio Motors has raised $17 million via Regulation A+ stocks and $20 million from crowdfunding and these place-in-line reservations. It has also made plans to manufacture the aerodynamic vehicles — which are officially classified as motorcycles but have power windows, cruise control, and a/c — in Shreveport, Louisiana.