I had heard NOTHING about this thing, but I am a little intrigued.
It's a 1+1 trike with a ~50hp inline three tugging 1200lbs. Claimed 84mpg, expected price under $7k.
Reviews of it are pretty bad - doesn't drive well, is slow, is cramped - stuff that was said about Hyundai Excels and Yugos back in the day. I think America has largely forgotten (quickly) how terrible super cheap cars were. The Elio is like 60% the price of the cheapest car in America, but probably better than 60% as well equipped.
Honestly, I am intrigued - everything Elio is saying about Elios rings true based on my experiences with the Fiat - most people would never notice the loss of big car features most of the time. The Elio still costs about twice what the Fiat does to run, although $7k buys the Elio outright and $4k rents the 500e for three years. Maybe the TCO ends up being similar.
It appears the Elio is classified as a motorcycle in most places, but that's no guarantee. If it is, and that means emissions exemption, I'd be VERY curious about engine swaps for a diesel of some sort - because the potential of tiny diesel cars fascinates me.
On the downside, Elio still doesn't have a manufacturing plan or even a fully realized prototype, so who knows if this will actually happen. It could just be more Aptera-esque hype. Hilariously, though, they have already struck a deal with Pep Boys for service and warranty concerns. Since they are a motorcycle in most places, they can be direct marketed without Tesla-type dealer hangups.
Anywho, WTF?