Less a matter of hope, and more a strong suspicion that with any higher typical sale price, the vehicle will no longer compete meaningfully in its intended market. You'll instead be looking at a one-off, with sales numbers akin to imported Utes or Kei cars or something like that. Guaranteed to tank the company, just in a different way than the risks associated with the current plans.
There are a number of compacts and subcompacts from established manufacturers that can be had at the end of a model year for $9K to $12K pretty readily, and they and their dealer networks could easily push Elio out of the market they've expressed an interest in almost immediately, even assuming an existing foothold for EM, if the trike gets up around $9K starting, fuel efficiency and aesthetic novelty notwithstanding. They won't sell well at that sort of a price point.