Elio Motors Engine Unveiling 2/6/2015 -3/6/2015

[tonyspumoni]

Until you see and post the signed contracts/agreements with all the board members/suppliers/supporters/investors you are simply blowing smoke here...

We are all just blowing smoke, including the he-said/she-said I-have-it-on-firm-authority-that-everything-is-fine quoters. I said this sniffs bad. No one will know whether they are just inept and everything is fine or if everything is NOT fine and there was some other reason for this.

I know that if I had invested and this was just a PR problem I'd be furious and someone's head would be on my plate. My ownership stake gets more value when there is good news and less value when there is bad news. Bad things will happen. That's why it is called investing. But when you MAKE bad things happen that are entirely avoidable (like who the F cares if X can't make the February 5th engine unveiling), you destroy value for no logical purpose. If you choose to adhere to the view that everything is ok and the engine if fine, that's one way to look at things. But if true then they have other problems because not unveiling the engine or re-scheduling is a sign of something. What that something is is NOT someone being to busy for good news.

 

[goofyone]

We all would like to see this engine running as soon as possible however I see this discussion as being much less about the engine or a PR issue than about some of us who are following along closely simply being impatient. It is simply too easy for those of us sitting around on the outside looking in to read way too much into whatever EM says and/or does not say then come up with all kinds of unfounded speculation about what could be happening.

The truth is that it has only been a little over 3 weeks since EM told us they had to reschedule the engine unveiling. At that time they told us they would advise us of the new date when they are able to work it out with their partners and the facility. I have no doubt they are indeed working on this however if scheduling this event were an easy task EM likely would not have had an issue in the first place. As I am sure nobody wants to avoid a repeat of the last time any more than EM does it behooves them to take as much time as it takes to get it right this time.

 

[tonyspumoni]

...and I said last fall at ATVM would NOT fund in 2014 and that we would be fortunate to have any news in Q1 of 2015. Q1, 2015 is 2/3rds done and we have....wait for it....no news.

I work for a company in the world's top 20 by market cap and often in the top 10. I see start-ups all the time. This one is not in my industry though, so I don't usually try to apply the logic of my industry to this one. Still, some rules are very solid, and PR is one of them. Elio Motor's PR group and perhaps the entire management team has a choice on this one: they are either liars or fools. They don't get another choice. If the engine is fine and they missed their unveiling owing to a genuine scheduling conflict, they are fools. If there is another reason, they are liars. It is that simple in my opinion.

I'm not a hater - I love the company, the concept, and have plunked down my bucks. But I am rational and just with respect this event something is dead wrong.

 

[goofyone]

...and I said last fall at ATVM would NOT fund in 2014 and that we would be fortunate to have any news in Q1 of 2015. Q1, 2015 is 2/3rds done and we have....wait for it....no news.

I work for a company in the world's top 20 by market cap and often in the top 10. I see start-ups all the time. This one is not in my industry though, so I don't usually try to apply the logic of my industry to this one. Still, some rules are very solid, and PR is one of them. Elio Motor's PR group and perhaps the entire management team has a choice on this one: they are either liars or fools. They don't get another choice. If the engine is fine and they missed their unveiling owing to a genuine scheduling conflict, they are fools. If there is another reason, they are liars. It is that simple in my opinion.

I'm not a hater - I love the company, the concept, and have plunked down my bucks. But I am rational and just with respect this event something is dead wrong.

So your rational, well thought out, and logical argument is that unavoidable scheduling conflicts which interfere with plans only happen to fools? o_O

 

[RUCRAYZE]

You've got something stuck in your teeth...

it's his foot!!

 

[tonyspumoni]

So your rational, well thought out, and logical argument is that unavoidable scheduling conflicts which interfere with plans only happen to fools? o_O

Nope. That handling a PR situation like this is either unnecessarily foolish or inaccurate or perhaps a little of both. If you want to be taken seriously, particularly by people with a pile of money they'd like to make larger by investing, then this sort of herky-jerky message managing does not send the right message at all. It's just plain weird. No one thinking of investing would look at this 11th hour 'well everything is great but we just don't have time for this now' and not wonder WTF these guys are doing or what else is going on.

When we look at a start-up, a vendor, a new technology, or any in-licensing opportunity (due diligence) we assume a priori that we are seeing what we are seeing the best possible light. Our job is to kick over all the rocks and see what is underneath. In this case every rock you turn over has something weird hiding under it. This engine unveiling was perhaps the most important material event other than the plant acquisition to happen and it did not happen.

The only folks I'm questioning for their real reasons are the management team and their public relations group. And if they come around an unveil a perfectly good engine in a week to no formal announcement at all, then it'll be clear that their PR group and management team are just inept - not at designing a working engine - but at properly buidling a reputation for believability. And I will cheer loudest of all.

 

[Charlie G]

The truth is that it has only been a little over 3 weeks since EM told us they had to reschedule the engine unveiling.

'only' 3 weeks...

I mean... I understand waiting to unveil everything at once, but allowing it to completely fall off the map is strange.
It seems to me that the engine (if it works as we're all speculating) is a huge milestone for them.
They could be trickling information to build/maintain hype, but they're not saying a word. That's just bizarre to me.
A 30 second teaser video wouldn't reduce the impact of the actual event, it would just build hype. It would cost very little to produce in terms of the press/excitement it would make.
Something like this, only with an engine.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

'only' 3 weeks...

I mean... I understand waiting to unveil everything at once, but allowing it to completely fall off the map is strange.
It seems to me that the engine (if it works as we're all speculating) is a huge milestone for them.
They could be trickling information to build/maintain hype, but they're not saying a word. That's just bizarre to me.
A 30 second teaser video wouldn't reduce the impact of the actual event, it would just build hype. It would cost very little to produce in terms of the press/excitement it would make.
Something like this, only with an engine.

Hummmm "completely fall off the map is strange", not if you are a member of The Flat Earth Society

 

[John Painter]

Nope. That handling a PR situation like this is either unnecessarily foolish or inaccurate or perhaps a little of both. If you want to be taken seriously, particularly by people with a pile of money they'd like to make larger by investing, then this sort of herky-jerky message managing does not send the right message at all. It's just plain weird. No one thinking of investing would look at this 11th hour 'well everything is great but we just don't have time for this now' and not wonder WTF these guys are doing or what else is going on.

When we look at a start-up, a vendor, a new technology, or any in-licensing opportunity (due diligence) we assume a priori that we are seeing what we are seeing the best possible light. Our job is to kick over all the rocks and see what is underneath. In this case every rock you turn over has something weird hiding under it. This engine unveiling was perhaps the most important material event other than the plant acquisition to happen and it did not happen.

The only folks I'm questioning for their real reasons are the management team and their public relations group. And if they come around an unveil a perfectly good engine in a week to no formal announcement at all, then it'll be clear that their PR group and management team are just inept - not at designing a working engine - but at properly buidling a reputation for believability. And I will cheer loudest of all.

This was meant to be a show for the public.... ahem, us.

Any investors who cared to see it run, sniff the oil pan, or caress the cam cover have long since done that.

 

[John Painter]

Hummmm "completely fall off the map is strange", not if you are a member of The Flat Earth Society

I know a person who indeed is a flat earth society guy, it's serious stuff, but for some reason all the pictures he draws looks like this.