I Have Given Up On Elio, Have You?

[Samalross]

I never found how much ESG or even Roush got paid. I know ESG got paid in $25M in common stock (25M shares back in October 2011) but I never seen a cash amount. Only thing I can assume is that ESG has sold stock and thus they could have made that back. With no recent SEC filings, it's hard to tell what is going on. This is why you don't invest in companies that don't have SEC filings. This is because lots of things can go on and you have no idea that it's happening until it's too late.

What worries me is when the Eliocoin comes out and they start releasing SEC filings again (as per Paul, they will be doing this as it's scrutinized), you'll see a whole new set of financials and typically, the existing stockholders get shafted. In the end, that's OK as long as it gets the Elio closer to production. That's what we all want.

I have not heard anything about the Eliocoin in a long time. Are they still trying? And who would trust Elio after the reservations, stocks, misspending , and everything else debacle?

 

[Made in USA]

I have not heard anything about the Eliocoin in a long time. Are they still trying? And who would trust Elio after the reservations, stocks, misspending , and everything else debacle?

There will always be people willing to try something new. Here's the first part of the Eliocoin announcement:

Elio Motors Kicks Off Security Token Pre-Sale to Fund Production
September 20, 2018
PHOENIX, AZ – September 20, 2018 -- Elio Motors, Inc. (OTCQB: ELIO), developer of the ultra-high-mileage three-wheel vehicle, the Elio, announced today that it has formally launched the pre-sale of the ElioCoin Security Token. The company also announced that Patrick M. Byrne, Overstock.com’s founder and CEO, has agreed to become the first participant in the pre-sale.

Elio Motors currently intends to raise up to $25 million in the offering, which is limited to certain institutional and accredited investors pursuant to Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). The proceeds of the offering will be used to fund the capital expenditures necessary to bring the Elio into production. (continues)

My guess is that they never raised the $25 million total and later they said something about it needing recoded. No money, no recoding.

 

[RSchneider]

I have not heard anything about the Eliocoin in a long time. Are they still trying? And who would trust Elio after the reservations, stocks, misspending , and everything else debacle?

It's simple. They can't get anyone to underwrite the $25M they need for their second IPO. Exactly the same thing that happened with the NASDAQ IPO. No $100M, no IPO. We all remember that deal where if Elio raised $25M, then a bunch of debt would be paid off. So, looking at what Elio owes, that $25M in the IPO would go to paying off debt and then Elio would be doing exactly what they are doing today, in about 4 months. No money and no work being done. For Elio they went through the "series" form of fundraising and then moved onto the IPO. Downfall is, having a second or third IPO is not a great way of raising money. Plus it sends the message that your initial IPO didn't work. So far that's the case with Elio as the NASDAQ didn't work and we are about a year and a half into the Eliocoin fundraising campaign. Which as we all know has been silent since the end of September 2018.

Elio poisoned the well when they did not do what they planned to do in their SEC filings for the initial IPO. After that, people becomes nervous because they think that you can't get to production. Here we are, 4 years after the IPO and all that happened was very little. Elio made this bed and now they got to sleep in it. It's a tough sell to an investor today when they ask you the hard questions, things like:
1. Why didn't you build the 25 e series?
2. Why was there a major change in the chassis and body after the IPO?
3. Why did you drop your engine?
4. Why has there been no activity for the last two years?
You can't answer, "We got 65K reservations and this will be good for society, so gimmie the money and we will make much more." For the reservation holder, it sounds great, not so much for the investor.

An option would be for Elio motors to develop an EV version and then use it to raise money to get the plant running and customer deliverables. Use that funding to get the ICE versions going in about 5 years down the road. That way the current reservation holders would be happy and no complaints. Plus, not against anything in the contract. Only fly in the ointment would be that Elio Motors past track record would make it hard for investors to look past. A Sondors/Elio joint venture would be a good idea.

 

[Rickb]

It's not like mark cane from the poor house. With his money, I would have thought he would have been paid zero. As for the others, I have a feeling they own stock and thus if the company takes off, they make a boatload. In those situations they are a risk but I bet there are some other business dealings that you don't know about. For example, how much did ESG get paid for engineering services? I don't know of anyone that works for free to make a vehicle just because they do it for the love of it. This is not like they are doing something like Habitat for Humanity or helping out a family member.

Plus, what's the latest compensation? You are posting info that is from 2016. That's three years old. What about 2019 or at least the first half of 2019? Both, stock based and cash.

Latest compensation? Is Elio Motors still paying it’s Directors and Officers? I was comparing Arcimoto’s 2016 compensation package to Elio Motor’s 2016 Compensation Package for work and production milestones met. The majority of Arcimoto’s limited private ‘angle investor’ funding went to R&D.

 

[RSchneider]

Latest compensation? Is Elio Motors still paying it’s Directors and Officers? I was comparing Arcimoto’s 2016 compensation package to Elio Motor’s 2016 Compensation Package for work and production milestones met. The majority of Arcimoto’s limited private ‘angle investor’ funding went to R&D.

View attachment 23972

Arcimoto is two years older than Elio Motors. So at that period of time, Elio was 7 years old and Arcimoto was 9. So you should look into the compensation for similar years of being in business.

 

[Lil4X]

I never invested a cent in EM, although severely tempted several years ago. But then I thought back on my beachfront condo I put a coupla grand down on, only to see it washed away by a hurricane. The developers promised to rebuild, but eventually they absconded with the insurance money.

Since then, I've been a bit of a skinflint with my investments - having learned a good lesson. No matter how much you want it, or how attractive the deal seems to be, I'll stay on the sidelines until there's some significant movement toward profitability. Promises are worth exactly the paper they're written on.

That doesn't mean I've lost faith in the Elio concept - oh no! But I've learned over the years that engineers make lousy entrepreneurs - they too often get caught up and fall in love with their dream, never developing the perspective of a steely-eyed accountant who wants to see a return on the investment with solid target dates attached. I'll stick around out of curiosity, and I still believe in the concept, but I'm not counting on driving an Elio (or whatever) in the next several years.

 

[Rickb]

I never invested a cent in EM, although severely tempted several years ago. But then I thought back on my beachfront condo I put a coupla grand down on, only to see it washed away by a hurricane. The developers promised to rebuild, but eventually they absconded with the insurance money.

Since then, I've been a bit of a skinflint with my investments - having learned a good lesson. No matter how much you want it, or how attractive the deal seems to be, I'll stay on the sidelines until there's some significant movement toward profitability. Promises are worth exactly the paper they're written on.

That doesn't mean I've lost faith in the Elio concept - oh no! But I've learned over the years that engineers make lousy entrepreneurs - they too often get caught up and fall in love with their dream, never developing the perspective of a steely-eyed accountant who wants to see a return on the investment with solid target dates attached. I'll stick around out of curiosity, and I still believe in the concept, but I'm not counting on driving an Elio (or whatever) in the next several years.

Some engineer’s have better entrepreneurial and marketing skills than engineering skills.

 

[gtophil]

Yeah. No way this car will ever be produced unless someone else beats them to it or buys the idea.

 

[Made in USA]

Caution: Sarcastic Post

Paul Elio is a genius and is way ahead of the curve. By not starting up the plant he has avoided all this coronavirus mess. I'm sure he, and all the rest of the "employees" are already working from home too. We should thank him for being a visionary leader. He probably also realizes the Solo is a much better idea in that the Elio would put people much too close together. The Solo gives each individual their own bubble of protection. One more nail in the Elio coffin?

 

[RSchneider]

Caution: Sarcastic Post

Paul Elio is a genius and is way ahead of the curve. By not starting up the plant he has avoided all this coronavirus mess. I'm sure he, and all the rest of the "employees" are already working from home too. We should thank him for being a visionary leader. He probably also realizes the Solo is a much better idea in that the Elio would put people much too close together. The Solo gives each individual their own bubble of protection. One more nail in the Elio coffin?

He's also ahead of the curve because he has a plant and equipment that he can start making toilet paper. I'll venture to guess that it'll be ready soon.