Financing Elio Motors Development And Production

[imageon]

A friend of mine asked me, "If this guy is serious why has the cost of the Elio remained the same for so long? It should go up each year with the cost of inflation."
I couldn't answer his question and just for a moment I worried.
Okay, now I am good.
MK

 

[outsydthebox]

A friend of mine asked me, "If this guy is serious why has the cost of the Elio remained the same for so long? It should go up each year with the cost of inflation."
I couldn't answer his question and just for a moment I worried.
Okay, now I am good.
MK

IIRC, the price has gone up. A few years ago.

 

[ScarecrowRepair]

The problem is Elio not telling the truth to the ones who have money invested until they were forced to by Caddo PJ.

I have been through a zillion prototypes in my line of work, and it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to understand that the only way to do something new is to take risks and expect delays and obstacles.

You apparently never took risks and have never done anything new. I feel sorry for you, but sorrier for us who have to wade through your negative chaff to find the wheat.

 

[skygazer6033]

There are a lot of investors out there. The problem is they tend to be greedy. They want to make a lot of money on their investment. I just hope EM can find investors who won't drive the price through the roof.

 

[imageon]

After reading a lot of this and the letter from Paul.
The suddenniss of the announcement.
I think what has happened is a major investor had unexpectlly pulled out. Just a guess.
Would explain a lot though.
MK

 

[satx]

They want to make a lot of money

and very often, they want control.

 

[Rickb]

It just crossed my mind that since Elio Motors has officially announced a funding shortfall of $240 million and currently lack a tested engine in a production prototype that can prove the ATVM minimum 75 MPG requirement, does that jeopardize their ATVM Loan approval in any way? It has been mentioned that an applicant needs to show financial solvency with resources to pay back the loan.

 

[goofyone]

It just crossed my mind that since Elio Motors has officially announced a funding shortfall of $240 million and currently lack a tested engine in a production prototype that can prove the ATVM minimum 75 MPG requirement, does that jeopardize their ATVM Loan approval in any way? It has been mentioned that an applicant needs to show financial solvency with resources to pay back the loan.

The way EM Government Affairs VP Joel Sheltrown has explained it, and from my reading of the DOE guidelines for this part of the loan program I do tend to agree with him, the government does not expect full vehicles to be produced already but instead the applicant company must show that it has developed the idea far enough. Computer simulations are fine as long as they show that the vehicle design will meet applicable government regulations and will be able to achieve 75+ MPG or electric equivalent.

As Joel has pointed out, in some of his writing which I have read, this is not unusual at all for the government today. Many people do not realize that the government accepts simulated crash test data as evidence when allowing cars to be sold in the USA and only randomly actually crashes cars themselves to verify that the submitted data is met by the production vehicle. Also vehicle manufacturers rarely spend the money to actually crash test each model year of their vehicles. They instead do crash testing while in the chassis design phase and when the first model year is introduced and any chassis modifications over time are simply tested via computerized testing and this is what is submitted in subsequent model years.


The financial solvency part of the equation is similar as the applicant company essentially has to provide a business plan which shows a reasonable chance of success at paying back the loan.


The loan program guidelines are available here at the link below but one thing to note when reading these is pay close attention to the rules for the three parts of the program as EM is apply for the "Ultra efficient vehicle" part and not the "ATV" or "qualifying component" parts and not all rules apply to all parts the program. Actually very few rules apply to the the "Ultra efficient vehicle' part of the program.

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/05/f16/ATVM-Program-Application-Overview.pdf

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/...r-Applicants-Final-Version-October-5-2012.pdf

 

[skygazer6033]

It was told a few months ago that EM has been approached by several investors but they wanted too much control in return for their investment. (Scrapping the IAV engine IIRC) Paul sent them packing. After this latest SNAFU I just hope EM can continue to stand their ground and not let the need for funding force any compromise in the "big 4".

 

[Rickb]

The way EM Government Affairs VP Joel Sheltrown has explained it, and from my reading of the DOE guidelines for this part of the loan program I do tend to agree with him, the government does not expect full vehicles to be produced already but instead the applicant company must show that it has developed the idea far enough. Computer simulations are fine as long as they show that the vehicle design will meet applicable government regulations and will be able to achieve 75+ MPG or electric equivalent.

As Joel has pointed out, in some of his writing which I have read, this is not unusual at all for the government today. Many people do not realize that the government accepts simulated crash test data as evidence when allowing cars to be sold in the USA and only randomly actually crashes cars themselves to verify that the submitted data is met by the production vehicle. Also vehicle manufacturers rarely spend the money to actually crash test each model year of their vehicles. They instead do crash testing while in the chassis design phase and when the first model year is introduced and any chassis modifications over time are simply tested via computerized testing and this is what is submitted in subsequent model years.

The financial solvency part of the equation is similar as the applicant company essentially has to provide a business plan which shows a reasonable chance of success at paying back the loan.

The loan program guidelines are available here at the link below but one thing to note when reading these is pay close attention to the rules for the three parts of the program as EM is apply for the "Ultra efficient vehicle" part and not the "ATV" or "qualifying component" parts and not all rules apply to all parts the program. Actually very few rules apply to the the "Ultra efficient vehicle' part of the program.

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/05/f16/ATVM-Program-Application-Overview.pdf

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/...r-Applicants-Final-Version-October-5-2012.pdf

Thanks for that detailed information and the links.