Any lawyer worth their salt would be able to tear this so-called "commitment" to shreds. Literally, the entire purpose of this exercise is to weed out people who are not fully committed to the Elio,
which is perfectly fine. Don't worry, and don't sign it
Seth, I think you have it backwards -- the point of the exercise is to convince DOE that the market demand for the car is real. It isn't to weed out the not-fully committed, but to identify those who ARE fully committed, and provide that data to DOE.
The problem is that the way they've set up the form and agreement are scary, because they show a one-way street. Elio wants commitment from us, but isn't expressing any limits or commitment on their part. This could easily be fixed; it's mainly a communications problem. As it is, they are going to have a significant wash-out percentage, EVEN AMONG FOLKS WHO REALLY DO WANT THE CAR.
I have written the cognizant people at EM about this, but they don't always want to hear from outsiders, even ones with decades of experience in corporate communications. I hope this time they make some adjustments, such as these:
1. Make it clear that no money will be sought if Elio cannot deliver a car closely matching the promised economy, safety, and comfort.
2. Make it clear that no additional money will be required until your car is produced.
3. Limit the time period of the commitment: "This commitment last until 12/31/18 or the start of full production, whichever comes first." (That's a convenient date; pick your own. Elio can afford to do this because the whole point is to get the ATVM loan. Once they get it, they won't need those formal commitments.
If they made and communicated those changes, I'm sure many more people would feel safe, and thus OK to sign the commitment form.
We on this board are the Elio activists, and many of us have expressed reservations. it's got to be much worse among the 52,000 or so people who do NOT participate in this forum! So it's imperative for EM to address this issue right away.