Here's what Elio is charged with:
1. An investigation by the Commission revealed that Elio Motors, Inc. fabricates, manufactures, and/or assembles motor vehicles, and as such Elio Motors, Inc. is a manufacturer as defined in LSA-R.S. 32:1252(24).
This is a BS accusation, so an easy win for Elio.
2. An investigation by the Commission revealed that Elio Motors, Inc. accepted deposits from consumers for the sale of motor vehicles. By doing so, Elio Motors,Inc. is a manufacturer selling or offering to sell motor vehicles directly to a consumer.
This is another easy one for Elio. Because in their defense:
This Agreement does not constitute an agreement for sale of a vehicle and does not lock in pricing, a production slot or an estimated delivery date. You are under no obligation to purchase a vehicle from us, and we are under no obligation to supply you with a vehicle. If and when we notify you of the vehicle and you wish to proceed with the purchase, such a sale and purchase will be governed by a separate and legally binding Purchase Agreement between you and us or between you and another authorized dealer.
and
Base vehicle and/or option pricing may not be available at the time of your reservation and, if pricing is available, its subject to change until agreed upon in an executed Purchase Agreement.
and
If you do not wish to enter into a Purchase Agreement at the time you are contacted by Elio, you have the option to relinquish your reservation sequence position.
As you can see. People bought a reservation number and the amount they paid will be used as a deposit. So, Elio does not owe anyone anything. If they start making them and your number comes up but only the top of the line with an automatic in white is only available, you have a choice, take it or wait. You could be #500 but might have to wait until #50K for yours to come up. Think of it like with the Tesla Model 3. Only the extended version is out and the cheaper ones will be later down the road even if they made reservations earlier.
This is good because it shows that people only paid for a spot in line and nothing more. Tesla took reservations in Louisiana, so they should be under the same rule as Elio. You can't get your Tesla in that state and the same thing will apply to Elio. I don't really see where the commission can really apply the law to Elio but nobody else. Plus, if you look up under the department of corporations, Tesla is listed just like Elio. Hopefully Elio can bring up this point because it's pretty obvious that Tesla had to of taken a reservation in that state and probably more than Elio has.
Tesla Motors Louisiana:
https://coraweb.sos.la.gov/Commerci...archDetails.aspx?CharterID=1053897_31AB09547B
Court Document:
http://ksla.images.worldnow.com/library/980149a1-aa59-46a5-a49d-c6b61d7d0a5e.pdf