I understand where you are coming from, but the majority of the public wants, and Elio motors needs this thing regulated like a car for it to sell in the numbers needed...
As long as the Elio can be driven with a normal car drivers license and without a helmet the public could care less about the exact government classification. Those issues are what would affect sales so that is why EM has chosen to tackle those legal issues first. In reality in most states being a motorcycle actually has added advantages over a car such as easy HOV lane access as well as reduced or removed requirements for safety and smog inspections.
The fact of the matter is that Elio Motors needs the Federal government to regulate this vehicle as a motorcycle as this is one way they are able to keep the vehicle cost so low. EM also does not care whether the state governments label it a motorcycle or auto-cycle as long as they do not require a motorcycle license and helmet use.