email to me about 1:30 today:
August 28, 2015
Hello Steven,
Today is one of the most important and exciting days in Elio Motors history. We just filed our offering statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to seek authorization to make a formal stock offering to support our $25,000,000 equity crowdfunding raise.
We began the “testing the waters” phase of an equity crowdfunding initiative on June 19. We have surpassed our goal of $25 million, and are now at more than $30 million in non-binding expressed interest from over 8,300 investors. The quick and enthusiastic response from potential investors is further evidence for the support and enthusiasm for Elio Motors.
The equity crowdfunding initiative was made possible by amendments to Regulation A mandated by the 2012 JOBS Act, often referred to as Regulation A+. These new rules make it easier for start-ups to seek investment from non-accredited investors. Filing the offering statement is the next step in this process.
Regulation A+ is intended to allow entrepreneurs and start-ups easier access to capital. It also allows the average person to invest in a potentially hot growth company.
Given the potential positive impact Regulation A+ will have on startups and individual investors, we are proud to be one of the first companies to use this strategy. It’s innovative. We’re innovators. It’s a perfect match.
Our filing also means that Elio Motors’ company information will be more accessible than ever. Our Preliminary Offering Circular, which is part of our offering statement filed with the SEC, is available for review at
www.eliomotors.com/equity (under Reserve My Elio button). One of our core principles from the beginning has been transparency, so we welcome the opportunity to share more about our mission with our fans and supporters.
There are two key pieces of information that we’d like to point out. One, the price listed in the Preliminary Offering Circular is “less than $7,600.00.” Second, we state that we do not expect to start delivering to customers until the fourth quarter of 2016 at the earliest.
Regarding the $7,600.00 statement, I have stated on previous occasions, the vehicle cost would be close to $7,300.00 if we went to market today. Our collective goal has always been and will remain focused on engineering the Elio to the $6,800 price point. You don’t earn a Gold Medal in the Olympics by aspiring and training to win Bronze. To achieve huge accomplishments you must work diligently towards big goals. We will continue to work closely with our supplier partners to find ways to reduce costs to accomplish our $6,800 goal.
As for the production date, I have frequently communicated it is driven by our fundraising efforts. The supporters that have made reservations for both vehicles and equity shares, and supported us through the 506c offering have made a huge impact on our progress. This is not an easy task, but it is very much moving forward, so as the funding picture becomes clearer, so does our production date.
We get that you want your vehicle. We understand. Frankly, no one wants to get these vehicles in production more than the Elio Motors team.
At the same time, our excitement continues to grow as our progress continues to gain momentum. We have hit several important milestones in the past six months as we have:
- Completed our engine design;
- Successfully reached our goal of $25M during the “testing the waters” phase in our crowdfunding efforts;
- Started the build for the P5 prototype;
- Recently completed another successful supplier summit;
- Begun putting together what will ultimately become our final production timeline;
- Become one of the first companies utilizing an equity crowdfunding platform to file with the SEC based on the most recent Regulation A+.
Elio Motors is a big idea. We are literally changing the world. Big ideas take time. Henry Ford, for example, took 17 years to go from prototype to mass production. It took Tesla nine years. We’ve been on this journey for seven and in the process have not compromised our original intent. Instead, we remain committed and hungry, and are making progress every day.
So, today, we choose to celebrate. Our SEC filing is a significant step in the right direction and gets us closer to our goal. We hope you will celebrate with us, and as always, thank you from the entire Elio Motors team for your support.
Paul Elio