The Elios design actually goes against what the American makers have been doing since at least the 1970's. Its called "planned obsolescence". The vehicles were (are) designed to have failures at certain points, usually based on distance. The dealerships then made their money on service/parts. The new EV's aren't much different. Granted, they have less moving parts, but eventually the computers and/or batteries will need to be replaced, and that's something the typical owner cannot do themselves.
The Elio, on the other hand, is designed to be easy to work on with mostly common off the shelf parts. Can you name many other vehicles that aren't trying to force you to their service centers? I can't.
