The SEC filing that I posted states that they've earmarked $20M for the production prototype and related development, testing and tooling.
I believe the actual cost for the Italian-built concept prototype was just over $750k.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/...nrept2.pdf
No, they will not "then need a lot more money to actually build it in volume." They are going to farm production out by bid. It will be OPP.
Keep in mind that the Chinese and GM are currently producing and selling their own 4-wheeled EV in China for $5300 USD RETAIL.
Besides EM's efforts being concentrated on a dog-and-pony show...
This could very well have been one of the Elio's fundamental flaws.
The Elio lacked serious engineering for years.
Yes, EM is trying to use mostly off-the-shelf N. American parts.
But they're trying to re-invent the wheel from scratch, so to speak, at Shreveport...
While they've tried to do an imitation of herding cats with an incredible amount of suppliers.
Honestly, sometimes I also think the never-ending EM promotional campaign was a disaster.
It was a lot like putting more energy into producing an alternative fuel than that fuel ultimately produces.
It seems to have cost exponentially far more money than it raised.
It seems to have drawn money, time and effort away from designing the vehicle.
And it seems to have put them in a position of having to build the first 65k units near cost.
Something I'm sure potential investors found to be a factor in the decision to invest or not to invest.
EM may have produced more of a popularity contest than a real effort to design and build the autocycle itself.
And they surely made the whole process far too complicated for what they claim is such a simple vehicle.