It's interesting the number of people who want to label this a scam (it isn't) or to characterize what Mr. Nicholas may (or may not) have said as illegal (it wasn't). Nothing he says is really binding, in any case - I'll explain.
He can't sell the instruments over the phone, any more than we can buy them over the phone. He can't vet anyone as an Accredited Investor by asking 3 questions, either. This is a multi-step process and all he is trying to sell you on is taking the first step - asking for the Prospectus and the paperwork necessary to establish you as an Accredited Investor.
When you see a Prospectus (any, and I'd bet, ALL Prospectuses), one of the first things you read will be along the lines of "this is the controlling document, the ONLY controlling document, and no other written or verbal representations will be recognized." IOW, nothing Mr. Nicholas said is/was binding. You can't purchase until you have a Prospectus in hand, and you verify that you have read it. You can NOT purchase based on his representations.
Next step - you will be asked to provide investment account statements or the signature of a registered financial account manager/financial advisor/broker stating you meet the SEC's guidelines as an Accredited Investor. Legally, they can't take your word for it. AC's are considered "sophisticated" investors, capable of not only reading a Prospectus but understanding what it says and the risks involved in the investment. You will sign a statement that you have read the Prospectus, and that you understand it, too.
"50% discount" goes back to conversion terms. At the private placement stage, the company declares an estimate of valuation to communicate to investors what "share" (not Shares) of the company they would be buying. Going public (IPO, OTC, others), the company has to do the same thing, again - but time has passed, additional milestones have been achieved, their estimate of valuation goes up. The AC's interests can be converted to public Shares at this point, along with new purchasers. Here's the magic - if the Company's estimate of valuation has doubled, the AC's interests will have doubled, too, and their conversion to shares will essentially be at 1/2 the price of new investors just coming in. It's easier just to say "a 50% discount".
And this is why I feel a bit compelled to explain it all - Nobody will know or remember Network1, everybody will know Elio Motors, and it wouldn't be a good thing if talk of scam or scandal related to EM's fund-raising efforts has a negative effect on EM's reputation. It's bad enough we're dealing with the blowback of non-legitimate expressions of interest with StartEngine, giving ammunition to the naysayers that the process is tainted, we don't need to be adding fuel to the fire on the private placement side, too, especially if it's due to our own mis-understandings.