But again, what advantage is this particular law going to give Elio Motors?
And exactly how is it supposed to benefit the general public for that matter.
And it seems no-one comes up with a real answer.
WHAT'S THE POINT?
The idea behind the autocycle regulation, so far as I have come to understand it, is to provide a nationwide level playing field for autocycle sales and ownership. With the autocycle definition specified at a federal level, each individual state will be able to simply point to the federal definition as to what an autocycle is, and what it requires in order to be called one. This means that EM won't have to try to research and comply with 50 separate state laws in order to sell their vehicle. Ohio requires an enclosed cab, Texas requires a steering wheel, Indiana requires side-by-side seating, Oregon needs a center-mount headlight, etc., etc. (And yes, I made those up as fictional examples, merely to illustrate a point.) The point of the national standard is to define one single law that can be followed, and EM can say "We comply with the federal standard, and that's enough to satisfy everyone."
This greatly easy the regulatory compliance burden on EM. It broadens their market to encompass the entire country. It removes the need for their customers to have to go out and get motorcycle endorsements. It means that you don't have to wear a helmet inside your autocycle. It means you don't have to do research before crossing the state line. (As it stands, if I had an autocycle I could drive it in Ohio, but not in West Virginia.) The net effect of all of this is a markedly larger customer base, and correspondingly larger sales. None of these individual situations may have affected you. Well, good for you. But the entirety of the US is most definitely NOT in your situation.
This is a business/marketing decision. It's not altruism. They were changing to laws in order to attract more customer, and be able to sell those customers. Arcimoto's SRK will never be more than a niche vehicle that sells a couple hundred a year, tops. Why? Because it's a motorcycle in almost every state, requiring a motorcycle endorsement thanks to it's handle bars and non-enclosed cab. (Barring a thousand dollar upgrade that adds some funky plastic doors.) And it's starting price for 70 mile range is $12k!
The benefit to the general public is that it provides a way for people to look for a specific rating/compliance and know that they are getting something that meets those standards. You don't have to run down the list of features, and hope that the manufacturer is really doing it, or that they are doing it in a safe manner. You can look for the "Federal Autocycle Approved" sticker or whatever the designation is, and know that it has all the federally approved equipment, and meets the federal approved standards. It means that this is not some fly-by-night design that's merely trying to take advantage of the three-wheeled loophole to make a quick buck with some piece of shit deathtrap.
It is also an attempt to regulate the three-wheeled market so that maybe some of the three-wheeled-deathtraps never make it onto the streets. Because when the market is young, a bad public impression of three wheelers could have a very bad effect on sales of all three wheeled vehicles.
So EM made the decision to push the federal autocycle law. So it specifies a steering wheel, rather than handle bars. I understand that a few state laws already said this. Fully enclosed? Some states required this, too. So EM could do one of two things: They could sponsor a bill that had tighter regulations and have a better chance of it passing, or they could sponsor a bill that had much looser regulations, and risk it not being acceptable. If it was your business and money on the line, which way would you go?
So, yeah, maybe they are pushing a law that excludes the SRK. Or the Sondors. Maybe by design, maybe not. (Keep in mind that the Sondors concept didn't exist when EM started pushing the federal autocycle regulation. Did Arcimoto? I really don't know.) The question I have is: Did Arcimoto or Sondors put up any money to get the laws changed? Did they approach EM and start a dialog about getting the bill changed so that their vehicle could meet the regulations? Did they think about modifying their vehicle to meet the regulation?