I've been a long-time fan of Arcimoto, a company based in Eugene, fifty miles south of Salem, where I live.
Arcimoto makes the FUV (Fun Utility Vehicle), a three-wheeled semi-enclosed electric sort-of-motorcycle. In Oregon you don't have to wear a helmet while driving it, so it's a unique blend of a car and motorcycle.
I've been following the saga of Arcimoto, a three-wheeled electric FUV (Fun Utility Vehicle) for a long time. So long, I can't remember when I plunked down $100 for a pre-order reservation.
I must have been among the first to do this, since my reservation number is #129, and I believe they total more than 2,700 now.
Over the years I've come close to ordering a FUV, but I never did. Something always bothered me about Arcimoto.
Lack of usable real-world driving range, since I live six miles from Salem in a rural area with some large hills between me and town, and the FUV range is 102 miles in the city and considerably less in non-city driving. Lack of local servicing. Lack of long-term reviews. Lack of free delivery (last I knew, I'd have to pay $1,000 to get a FUV delivered). And crucially, lack of evidence that Arcimoto was a viable company.
I wanted to see some solid evidence that Arcimoto was going to survive before plunking down around $20,000 for a FUV, a large increase from the $12,000 that the FUV originally was supposed to sell for. I had no interest in being one of the people who bought a FUV just before Arcimoto went out of business.
Which looks like it could happen fairly soon.
On January 17, Arcimoto announced a $12 million public offering at $3 a share. Not surprisingly, since Arcimoto stock was trading around $6 at the time, the price of Arcimoto sank like a stone to well below $3.
Now, maybe the $12 million will buy Arcimoto time to figure out how to make the company survive. But the offering prospectus said that production has halted at the newly constructed Eugene manufacturing facility, and lots of employees have been laid off. An Oregonian story tells the sorry tale.
Shares in electric vehicle manufacturer Arcimoto plunged Wednesday after the company announced it has shut down production at its Eugene factory because it is nearly out of money.
Arcimoto moved to sell $12 million in additional shares at $3 each – less than half of Tuesday’s closing price. The stock plunged nearly 60% in morning trading, to $2.51.
“We have halted our production of vehicles and will require substantial additional funding to resume production,” Arcimoto warned in a regulatory filing accompanying the stock offering. The company warned that financing may not be available on any terms, and if not, “we will be required to cease our operations and/or seek bankruptcy protection.”
Arcimoto makes a three-wheel electric motorcycle it calls the Fun Utility Vehicle, or FUV. It was briefly among Oregon’s most highly publicized young companies, with a market value that peaked above $1 billion in 2021. The company is now worth less than $7 million.
Arcimoto struggled against supply chain issues as its new factory opened last year, and it’s never been clear that its FUVs have mass-market appeal.
Arcimoto laid off 50 and furloughed another 66 employees last fall to cut costs. But that hasn’t been enough. Subsequent financial filings revealed the company’s bank account has frequently been close to empty and it’s had to sell additional shares to stay afloat, diluting existing investors’ stake. Arcimoto had 250 employees at the end of 2021, the last period for which it has reported workforce figures.
The company produced just 252 over the most recent six months for which Arcimoto reported results and delivered just 115 to customers.
For the third quarter, which ended in September, Arcimoto reported $2 million in revenue. The company lost $17 million during the period.
Arcimoto said in October it was seeking “strategic alternatives,” employing a euphemism companies use when they put their business up for sale. But no buyer has emerged for the rapidly dwindling business.
So $12 million isn't going to last very long when the company has been losing $17 million a quarter. I still like the looks of the FUV. If someone gave me one, I'd happily drive it around. But there's no way I'd buy a FUV when Arcimoto is on such a shaky financial footing.
I'm just glad that I wasn't one of the people who bought Arcimoto stock when the shares were flying high. Now they've come back to earth with a resounding thud. This is the one year price history.
It's been almost a year since I wrote my last blog post about the Arcimoto FUV, a three-wheeled electric motorcycle that has some of the attributes of a car (notably, a roof). All of my Arcimoto posts, including this one, can be found here.
(1) My wife hates the idea of me buying one. (2) No compelling reason to buy a FUV. (3) I can buy a FUV later. (4) The maximum range has dropped. (5) Lack of long-term reviews. (6) Questions remain unanswered.
(I explain each of them in the above-linked blog post.)
I'm still interested in Arcimoto, though. Ive been reading most of the posts, and some of the comments, on the Arcimoto FUV Club Facebook page.
So here's an update on my thinking about the FUV.
What seems to be happening is that the early adopters eager to buy one of the first production Evergreen models are men, mostly, who are mechanically-inclined and willing to put up with considerable trouble and expense.
For example, there's been considerable discussion about the best way to transport a FUV -- from the Eugene factory where they're built back home (the FUV only has a city range of about 100 miles, so you're not going to get very far at highway speeds), and/or afterward, in part because so far as I can tell, Arcimoto doesn't have a local servicing network, thus necessitating return of an FUV to the factory for upgrades, repairs, and such.
Tesla doesn't have dealers either. But I've been told by Tesla owners that if you need servicing or a repair, Tesla sends out a mobile unit that checks out the problem at your home.
Since Arcimoto is charging $1,000 to deliver a FUV, it makes sense that initial buyers on the West Coast are looking for ways to transport their FUV themselves.
However, I'm skeptical that large numbers of people are going to be willing to buy a vehicle that isn't sold through a local dealer, has a hefty delivery charge, can't be serviced in most locations, and costs about $20,000 with no federal electric vehicle tax credit. This skepticism affected my decision not to buy a FUV, because there's a big risk in being one of the first to purchase a vehicle with no long-term track record.
The January 2020 issue of Consumer Reports had a cautionary story, "Why It Pays to Wait" about the reliability of new or newly-redesigned vehicles. Here's how it starts out.
For car lovers, a dealership showroom can evoke that proverbial "kid in a candy store" feeling, as you ogle the high-sheen brand-new models, dripping with cutting-edge technology. Not to be a buzzkill, but we're here to advise you to resist, and instead consider a model that's several years into its redesign life.
Why? CR proprietary analysis shows that vehicles tend to be most reliable by the final year of any particular model run (typically five to seven years), after many of the bugs have been worked out, and least reliable in the first year of a redesign, when freshly configured and often touted as "all new."
"It's tempting to want to be the first on your block to have the newest car, but that comes with reliability risks," says Jake Fisher, CR's senior director of auto testing. "Being patient can save you from years of frustration."
Thus those who buy one of the first Arcimoto FUVs should be aware that they're taking on a significant reliability risk. Indeed, on the FUV Club Facebook page I've read several accounts of people who drove off in their new FUV and almost instantly encountered a significant mechanical problem.
I understand that this is the price some are willing to pay to be, as Consumer Reports said, the first on their block (or indeed, city) to have a FUV. I'm just saying that most people, which definitely includes me, want a reliable vehicle, even it it means not having a brand-new model.
Lastly, while I admire Arcimoto's commitment to making an electric vehicle, and thereby reducing carbon emissions, I haven't found any reason to back away from what I wrote about the FUV in the "No compelling reason to buy a FUV" part of my above-mentioned 2019 post.
I'm always looking for more fun. Though I haven't driven a FUV yet, I'm sure it's fun to zip around in. However, so is my VW GTI. And it is much more practical than a FUV.
I can go grocery shopping in the GTI and lock my car when I go from store to store. I can take our dog along. If it rains, I don't get wet. If it snows, I don't get cold. The FUV lacks the fun-factor of a motorcycle, while also lacking the features that make my GTI both considerably safer and more useable, given my daily transportation needs.
So I continue to see the Arcimoto FUV as a niche vehicle that will appeal to only a small number of people: those who live in cities; are OK with a limited electric range; have another vehicle for practical purposes like grocery shopping, carrying children around, and such; and possess enough mechanical ability to do their own maintenance and repairs.
That said, I'd be overjoyed if, a few years from now, I re-read this post and say to myself, "Wow, I sure was wrong," because I'd like to see the FUV become a big success. It just isn't right for me in its current incarnation.
My Arcimoto pre-order number of #129 shows that I've been following the ups and downs of the company for many years.
Recently Arcimoto sent me an email with an enticing image of the Evergreen Edition FUV (Fun Utility Vehicle) that's being offered for sale to 100 people with low numbers on the pre-order list who live in Oregon, Washington, and California. (I live in Salem, Oregon.)
But I've decided to pass on plunking down a $5,000 deposit on the $19,900 Evergreen Edition, with delivery promised by June 2019. Here's my reasons, roughly ranging from most important to least important.
(1) My wife hates the idea of me buying one. This isn't an absolute deal-killer, since my wife also heartily disliked me buying a Suzuki Burgman 650 maxi-scooter, which I happily rode for three years.
However, she correctly considers that an Arcimoto FUV is considerably more dangerous than driving a car -- though certainly less dangerous than riding a two-wheeled motorcycle. (The FUV is classed as a three-wheeled motorcycle, albeit one with seat belts and some other car'ish amenities.)
(2) No compelling reason to buy a FUV. I'm always looking for more fun. Though I haven't driven a FUV yet, I'm sure it's fun to zip around in. However, so is my VW GTI. And it is much more practical than a FUV.
I can go grocery shopping in the GTI and lock my car when I go from store to store. I can take our dog along. If it rains, I don't get wet. If it snows, I don't get cold. The FUV lacks the fun-factor of a motorcycle, while also lacking the features that make my GTI both considerably safer and more useable, given my daily transportation needs.
(3) I can buy a FUV later. I appreciate Arcimoto allowing early pre-order customers like me to pass on the Evergreen Edition while keeping their place in line for an opportunity to purchase a subsequent model. So there isn't a reason to jump at this buying opportunity, since I can always purchase a FUV later.
(4) The maximum range has dropped. We live in rural south Salem, about seven miles from the city limits, with hills in-between us and town. I was interested in getting the extended range FUV model when Arcimoto said it would have a 130 mile range. But now the reported maximum range is 100 miles.
My wife and I have owned a Nissan Leaf and have leased three Chevy Volts. So I'm familiar with how the range of electric vehicles drops in cold weather and going up hills. A 100 mile range might be enough, but I'd much prefer a FUV with a longer range -- which could be available one day.
(5) Lack of long-term reviews. Over the years I've engaged in some email exchanges with Arcimoto staff where I express my questions and concerns, and they reply to me. Here's a verbatim exchange I had in August 2018 where I quoted from a blog post I'd written, "Arcimoto should get some long-term reviews before retail sales begin."
I said: Hey, it never hurts to ask. What I'm asking for in this blog post is for Arcimoto to arrange for an independent long-term review of their vehicle -- "long-term" being at least a few weeks, and ideally a few months.
Nothing like this exists at the moment. I've watched lots of videos of people taking a quick test drive. However, I'd like to know what it's like to drive an Arcimoto in the cold and wet, and at nighttime on a dark hilly twisty road (I live in the rural south Salem hills), plus in a variety of other conditions.
Maybe this won't be possible by the time retail sales begin around the end of 2018. I just would find it really helpful if Arcimoto loaned a beta vehicle to a Eugene journalist for a lengthy "get to know you" period, during which the journalist would blog about their experiences, summing it all up in an online report.
A staff person replied: Great suggestions, so thanks for taking the time to do that. We agree, we want to get long-term reviews on the docket, and it's in the plan once we have more vehicles available.
Well, I'm not aware of any long-term reviews. Yes, a few people have reported on their purchase of earlier FUV models, but these descriptions are hard to find.
Arcimoto gives lots of short test drives, as noted in my blog post. What I'm looking for, though, is what magazines like Car & Driver do: use a new vehicle for several days or longer, then tell readers its pluses and minuses.
Since Arcimoto has chosen not to have any long-term reviews available before asking prospective buyers to fork out $5,000 for a deposit on the Evergreen Edition, this is another reason why I'm not going to buy one.
(6) Questions remain unanswered. In a November 2018 blog post I discussed several questions that I wanted answers to before I'd feel comfortable buying a FUV. To my knowledge, most remain to be answered.
I'm fine taking a leap into the unknown in some instances, but not when a product costs $19,900.
For instance, I'm still not aware of how Arcimoto plans to handle servicing, repair, and warranty issues. Who, specifically, is going to take care of FUVs bought by people here in Salem, Oregon? Arcimoto continues to say they are working on a servicing network. That isn't good enough for me.
I'll end by saying that I'm still a believer in Arcimoto and the FUV. Someday I hope to own one. There's a lot to like about the FUV. Our Chevy Volt sucks up the electricity in our Level 2 charging unit, so it'd be nice for me to have a small electric vehicle that could be charged on 110V.
I'd just like more range, and more information -- as noted above. I'm rooting for Arcimoto to succeed, and will be paying close attention to how buyers of the Evergreen Edition enjoy their purchase.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention another reason. There's something strange about Arcimoto spending from now until June to build only 100 Evergreen Edition FUVs. This strikes me as being close to another "beta" test vehicle, though I could be wrong about this.
But if this is the final FUV design, why are so few vehicles being made over the next four months? The low number of FUVs to be built caused me to worry that if I bought this model, a new and improved model would come out soon, and I'd be stuck with the Evergreen Edition.
I'm an early Arcimoto backer with an early pre-order reservation number of #129. There's a lot that I like about the company's effort to design, manufacture, and sell an innovative electric three-wheeled motorcycle, which they call a FUV (Fun Utility Vehicle).
But there's also a lot to be wary about.
Notably, initial purchasers of the FUV have to make a bet on two things: (1) the quality of the final design of the FUV that will be used in retail sales (the design isn't finalized yet), and (2) the ability of Arcimoto, a start-up company, to stay in business through the three-year/36,000 mile warranty, and to be able to handle local repair, servicing, warranty, and recall needs that FUV purchasers have.
Regarding (2), I've been paying closer attention to Arcimoto financial reports as the projected date of the first retail sales draws closer. A November 2018 video indicates that this will happen in the first quarter of 2019. (Screenshot above; video is below.)
So here's my take on the company's recent third quarter 2018 earnings report, and the stock offering that following immediately after the report.
Earnings report. I'll repeat an excerpt from the 3rd quarter earnings report that I included in a November 17 blog post:
"The Company incurred an operating and net loss of $3.2 million, or ($0.20) per share in the third quarter of 2018, compared to an operating and net loss of $0.7 million, or ($0.05) per share in the third quarter of 2017.
The Company had $2.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and $0.8 million in short-term investments as of September 30, 2018, compared to $2.1 million cash and cash equivalents and $5.2 million in short-term investments as of June 30, 2018. As explained in more detail in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the periods ended September 30, 2018, our current resources are only sufficient to fund our intended operations through the end of November 2018."
Since Arcimoto only had $8,000 of revenue in July-September 2018, the loss of $3.2 million in the third quarter is all due to expenses incurred by the company, which averaged about $1.1 million per month.
Above is a more detailed look at Arcimoto finances, which I found on a GuruFocus.com page. It shows that total operating expenses for the 3rd quarter were indeed $3.2 million. Expenses have gone up markedly from the year before in all three areas, R&D, sales/marketing, and general/administrative.
Another way of looking at how quickly Arcimoto is burning up cash (not literally, obviously) is the fact that at the end of June, 2018 the company had $7.3 million in cash and short-term investments, while at the end of September, 2018 the company had $3.2 million in cash and short-term investments.
So the company had $4.1 million less in cash and short-term investments at the end of the 3rd quarter, compared to the end of the 2nd quarter. This decline in cash isn't a surprise as the company made progress in 2018 on the design and promotion of its FUV product, which involved increased expenses.
Still, since the 3rd quarter earnings report was released on November 16, a month and a half into the 4th quarter, it is easy to see why the company said that current resources were only sufficient to fund operations through the end of November -- given that only $3.2 million was available at the beginning of the quarter, and expenses in the previous quarter were running at about $1.1 million to $1.4 million per month.
(Expenses also may be running higher in the 4th quarter, given the ramp-up toward retail sales.)
Stock offering. On the same day as the earnings report, November 16, Arcimoto announced a public stock offering of 2,500,000 shares priced at the higher of $3/share or the closing price as of that day, which was $2.94/share. So $3 turned out to be the price.
It's a bit confusing as to how many shares actually were offered for direct sale via wiring money to Arcimoto by 5 pm EST on Monday, November 19. Here's how I understand what happened, which may not be totally correct.
The October 17, 2018 prospectus spoke of 2,500,000 shares being offered. But a "Subject to Completion" note dated November 16 says that "the information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed." This fits with a BusinessWire document (partial screenshot below) that says 504,900 shares were being offered at $3 per share. Note: the offering date is wrong. Friday was November 16, not the 18th.
It appears that the company decided to offer less than the maximum number of 2,500,000 shares. I've been curious about how the stock offering went, but hadn't been able to learn how many shares were sold. The email address for the media/public relations person listed on the Arcimoto website isn't working, something I've pointed out to Arcimoto staff.
[UPDATE: It turned out that while Donahue's email address was correct on two Arcimoto web site pages, the underlying "mailto:" link had a typo in her last name, so I got the wrong address when I clicked on the email link. Arcimoto has corrected the problem, and I've re-emailed Donahue with my question about how many shares were sold in the stock offering.]
So at the moment I'm having to assume that information posted on the Arcimoto SRK "FUV" Club on Facebook is accurate, though I'm not sure how the person who posted this knew that $1.5 million was raised through the public offering. That appears to have been the goal, but I'm not aware of any public documents confirming that amount.
Well... damn, when I clicked on the post to generate a link to it, Facebook told me that the post had either been deleted or I don't have access to it. Since I'm still a member of the Facebook Club, I'm assuming that it was deleted. Fortunately, I'd made a screenshot of the post before it disappeared.
Again, I don't know how Colverson learned that $1.5 million was raised by the recent stock offering, or if this information is accurate. If he got the information from Arcimoto personnel prior to it being released publicly, that might be a violation of SEC rules.
At any rate, it does appear to be correct that Arcimoto insiders/executives bought 274,247 shares of stock in the offering on Monday, November 19. At least, that's what the GuruFocus link says. CEO Frohnmayer -- 139,903 shares. CFO Campoli -- 800 shares. COO Becker -- 210 shares. Director Eisler -- 75,000 shares. Director Scherer -- 33,334 shares. Director Curl -- 25,000 shares.
That brought in $822,741, at $3 per share. So Colverson was off a bit, when he said that company insiders put down $750,000 of their own money. Actually it was a bit more.
Now that I've re-read Colverson's post, one reason he deleted it might be the mention of Arcimoto directors heading off to Mexico and assuming new identities if they thought the company was just weeks away from going under. Sure, the remark was made in jest, I'm pretty sure, but it is a strange remark nonetheless.
For one thing, it was the company itself that said in the 3rd quarter earnings report that Arcimoto would run out of funding for current operations by the end of November 2018, given current resources. It wasn't "naysayers," which might have been a reference to me. Or to people on the Facebook forum who think like me.
Like so many others, I want Arcimoto to succeed with its FUV. I sure need more fun in my life. But I'm also a big believer in doing as much research as possible before making a significant purchase. I poured over VW GTI reviews and company information about the car for weeks, maybe months, before deciding to buy one in 2017.
And I believe I've got the 7th generation GTI, which has a long track record, as does VW, obviously. So research is way more important when considering a purchase of a new vehicle from a new company, which is the case with the FUV/Arcimoto.
Regarding the outcome of the stock offering, if all of the 504,900 shares put up for sale sold at the $3 price, that's great. Arcimoto now has $1,514,700 to keep the company operating. But as I noted above, this amount would only pay for about a month of a half of expenses, at best.
Which gets the company through the end of the year, or thereabouts. Again, assuming that all of the 504,900 shares were sold, something the company hasn't reported itself so far.
There are different ways to look upon the purchase of 274,247 shares by company insiders. In his Facebook post, Colverson thought this was a great endorsement of the company's prospects by people who know the most about what is happening with Arcimoto. OK, that's one perspective.
Here's another one.
All of the shares were bought on November 19, the last day of the stock offering. The reason might simply be that this was the first business day after the earnings report, and the insiders weren't able to wire money for the share purchases any earlier. (Assuming they were required to wire money, like other purchasers were.)
It also could be that the Arcimoto insiders knew that few "retail" investors were biting on the $3 share price, since the price of Arcimoto stock dropped dramatically on Monday. See above. I'd be surprised if anyone outside of the company was willing to pay $3 a share for FUV stock that was trading well under $2.50 a share soon after the opening bell on November 19.
Maybe only a few people were willing to do this. And maybe when company insiders realized the stock offering wasn't going to meet its $1,514,700 goal, they stepped in with share purchases of their own. After all, these insiders have the most to lose if Arcimoto were to cease operations, and the most to gain if the company hangs on and becomes a success.
Maybe. What I've just said is opinion, based on some facts. Here's another fact: CEO and founder Mark Frohnmayer's shares in Arcimoto were worth about $39 million after the first stock offering in 2017. So Frohnmayer and other insiders have good reason to invest more money in Arcimoto, if this is necessary to preserve the value of their stock holdings.
Question is: Will more money be needed by the company in addition to what was just raised by the stock offering? And if the main source of additional funds is company insiders, to what extent will they be willing to continue to buy shares of Arcimoto, if this is needed?
In general I've been supportive of Arcimoto's attempt to design and market an electric three-wheeled motorcycle, which they call the FUV, Fun Utility Vehicle. It does indeed look like fun, but this doesn't take away from the fact that the company is on shaky financial ground.
(You can see my previous posts about this effort by clicking on the Arcimoto category in the right sidebar. I have an early pre-order number of #129, so I've been following Arcimoto for quite a while.)
But yesterday Arcimoto did something that strikes me as ethically dubious -- a new last-minute stock offering announced after the markets closed on Friday, which requires investors to wire money by 5 pm EST on Monday if they want to buy shares via this offering.
This is after Arcimoto also announced yesterday in a third quarter earnings report that "our current resources are only sufficient to fund our intended operations through the end of November 2018."
First post was about the third quarter earnings report.
Well, as was suspected, Arcimoto is on shaky ground financially. The third quarter earnings report says they only have enough cash to last through November 2018. Excerpt: ------------- "Total revenues in the third quarter of 2018 were $8,000 as compared to no revenue in the third quarter of 2017. Sources of revenue in the third quarter of 2018 were $8,000 from the sale of merchandise and metal fabrication revenue.
The Company incurred an operating and net loss of $3.2 million, or ($0.20) per share in the third quarter of 2018, compared to an operating and net loss of $0.7 million, or ($0.05) per share in the third quarter of 2017.
The Company had $2.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and $0.8 million in short-term investments as of September 30, 2018, compared to $2.1 million cash and cash equivalents and $5.2 million in short-term investments as of June 30, 2018. As explained in more detail in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the periods ended September 30, 2018, our current resources are only sufficient to fund our intended operations through the end of November 2018."
Second post was about the new stock offering.
At the risk of being called a negative Arcimoto "boo-bird," I've got to say it like I see it. The company's weekend stock offering of up to 2,500,000 shares at $3 a share strikes me as ethically dubious (at best). Here's why I think this way:
(1) The subscription (sales) agreement says that the price will be the highest of $3 or the closing price today, November 16, which was $2.94. So Arcimoto is asking investors to pay more than the last market price.
(2) Payment has to be wired to the company no later than 5 pm EST on Monday, November 19. There's a good chance the market price of Arcimoto stock will be less than $3 by that time.
(3) Why the rush to get the money wired so fast? Seemingly because Arcimoto wants to get some money committed for shares over the weekend before the markets have a chance to digest the fact that Arcimoto says it will run out of cash by the end of November.
Note: if you've ever wired money, you'll know that once it is sent, it can't be retrieved. It isn't like a check that you can stop payment on. So this is another reason I'm suspicious of this scheme. Arcimoto wants the money before people can see what happens to the stock price next week.
(4) If someone wants to buy more Arcimoto stock, here's a suggestion: wait until next Tuesday. See what happens to the stock price on Monday. There's a good chance the price will be less than the $3 Arcimoto is demanding for the special stock offering unveiled today.
This scheme just feels wrong to me. It smacks of desperation. Arcimoto has known for months that it was running out of money. Likely it has tried to raise the $7.5 million of so from a variety of sources: banks, venture capital, institutional investors, etc.
Now time is running out, so it appears that Arcimoto is hoping to be bailed out by individuals who want very much to buy a FUV.
But these individuals are at considerable risk of paying $3 per share for stock that could be worth much less, even close to zero, before too long -- if Arcimoto isn't able to finalize design of its FUV and make a lot of retail sales.
I'm just speaking for myself, obviously. That said, this last minute weekend scheme makes me very reluctant to buy a FUV, if this is ever possible. Up until today I've felt that Arcimoto had high ethical standards. That feeling is much diminished now.
Third post was about risk factors in the prospectus.
I want to add this advice to prospective buyers of the new stock offering. Be sure to scroll down the offering document and carefully read the "risk factors" in the prospectus. Some are more or less boilerplate, but the first one talks about how Arcimoto is running out of money fast and may not be able to continue operations if enough stock isn't sold. I've copied it in: --------------------- "We may not sell all of the common stock we are offering, and we may not raise enough capital from the sale of our common stock to address our short-term cash flow needs or adequately fund and execute our developing growth strategy.
There is no minimum amount of our common stock we must sell in this offering. Accordingly, investors will bear the risk that we will accept subscriptions for far less than the maximum amount of shares offered.
In that event, we will be unable to successfully complete all of the anticipated uses of the net proceeds of this offering. The financial notes to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, contain an explanatory paragraph expressing substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern and the depletion of our cash as of approximately the end of November 2018.
If we raise less funds than planned, we might not be able to address our short-term cash flow needs and continue operations.
Even if we can continue our operations, if we raise less funds than planned, we might be unable to execute our developing growth strategy as planned and our prospects, business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected, all of which would have a negative impact the return on your investment in our common stock."
Arcimoto is a company based in Eugene, Oregon that has been working on the design and production of a three-wheeled electric motorcycle since its founding in November 2007. I plunked down a $100 pre-order deposit in October 2015, so I've got a low reservation number: #129.
I'm still trying to decide whether to buy an Arcimoto. I like the concept -- a fun to drive electric motorcycle with two heated seats, a windshield, seat belts, rollover protection, and other options yet to be revealed by Arcimoto.
But I've got unanswered questions that, hopefully, will be answered by the time I need to decide whether to go ahead with paying an estimated $12,000 to $15,000 for an Arcimoto FUV (Fun Utility Vehicle) with an extended battery, some storage, and at least half doors.
To the company's credit, the FAQs on the Arcimoto web site address most of the questions that concern me. However, so far Arcimoto hasn't provided good answers to those questions.
Here's six excerpts from those FAQs. I've highlighted the as-yet unanswered question or issue in red. My comment on each question or issue is in italics.
(1) What is the top speed, and for how long can the FUV maintain that speed?
The FUV’s top speed is 80 mph. The range is 70 miles with a full charge on the base model and 130 miles with the extended battery model. Driving at a high speed for an extended period will affect the range. We will provide more information on range under varied driving conditions once we have more testing data from the Alpha and Signature Series vehicles.
This is crucial information. I live about seven miles from the Salem, Oregon city limits. I'd be driving into town on a hilly two-lane road at about 45-50 mph. I want to be sure that I'll have enough range with the extended battery to drive around Salem, then get home with enough remaining battery capacity to avoid "range anxiety." Arcimoto needs to provide range estimates at various speeds and temperatures for vehicles with no doors, half doors, and full doors, as this is important information for prospective buyers to know.
(2) Can you drive in extreme cold or hot climates?
Yes. However, we will have better information on vehicle performance in various environmental conditions as we near full-scale production. All models of the FUV will have vent and heat for defrost and cabin comfort. We also plan to offer the option for a complete climate-control system.
Some years ago my wife and I briefly owned a Nissan Leaf with a claimed 130 mile range, if I recall correctly). [UPDATE: no, I didn't recall correctly. Wikipedia says Nissan's 2011 Leaf had a claimed range of 100 miles, but the EPA official range was 73 miles.] During cold weather, like 40 degrees, the range would drop markedly. A friend recently bought a used 2015 Leaf and he told me that the car is only getting about 60-70 miles of range, even though it hadn't been driven very much by the previous owner. [UPDATE: the EPA range for the 2015 Leaf is 75-84 miles.]
As noted above I need to know how many miles the extended battery Arcimoto will go at various temperatures and various speeds. Cars show "in town" and "highway" mileage estimates. Arcimoto needs to provide this information for cold, mild, and hot temperatures.
(3) What is the safety simulation status?
We have a mechanical engineer on staff with several years of experience in automotive safety and crash. The team has redesigned the front and side impact structure, and is working on nonlinear analysis on a variety of safety scenarios, to be backed up by testing.
Being a motorcycle, the Arcimoto lacks air bags. And being so small and light, albeit three-wheeled, it isn't going to fare very well in a collision with a car or truck. I'm OK with this, in part because I rode a Suzuki Burgman 650 maxi-scooter for three years, and survived without any accidents. But being older now, and maybe a bit wiser, I'd like to know how the Arcimoto and driver/passenger will hold up in certain types of crashes: head-on, side impact, rear-ended.
(4) How long does it take to charge the FUV?
Using a 110V outlet, the estimated time for a full charge is 8 hours. Using a 220V outlet, the estimated time is 4 hours. These are estimates that we will update as we continue testing.
We have a Level 2 charger in our carport. But my wife's Chevy Volt is hooked up to it most of the time, so if I got an Arcimoto, likely it would have to be charged outside at 110V. Eight hours would be fine, since I'd only be driving it once a day. But it'd be nice to have firmer charging estimates.
(5) What is the servicing plan?
The optimized design of the FUV will make servicing a very straightforward process, and most replacement parts are off-the-shelf automotive standards. We’ve started to build our service network in key cities, and will continue to expand as our production levels increase. FUV owners will be taken care of throughout the lifetime of your vehicle.
This is a significant concern for me -- how the Arcimoto would be repaired if something goes wrong. Before I'd seriously consider buying one, I'd need to know the name of the local service company here in Salem that would deal with problems. And what are the "key cities" that Arcimoto is building its service network in?
My understanding is that Arcimoto is accepting pre-order reservations from people all over the country, and even in foreign countries. How will servicing be handled for everybody who buys an Arcimoto FUV? I'll address the "lifetime of your vehicle" issue below.
(6) What is the FUV manufacturer’s warranty?
Arcimoto plans to offer a standard 3-year/36,000-mile warranty.
OK, this sounds good. But a 3-year/36,000 mile warranty requires that Arcimoto stay in business for that long. There's a fairly good chance that this won't happen. Arcimoto is a new company with a single new product. The most recent quarterly earnings report (August 2018) showed that Arcimoto lost $2.2 million in the second quarter and had $2.1 million in cash and $5.2 million in short-term investments as of June 30, 2018.
That's about $4 million less than the company had the quarter before. So if sales/revenues don't manifest substantially in 2019, it's easy to see how Arcimoto could go under, absent an influx of outside investment money. The company's stock price isn't particularly encouraging at the moment, being much closer to its 52-week low than the 52-week high. I doubt Arcimoto could guarantee that early purchasers of its FUV would be covered by the warranty no matter what happens to the company. This is just a valid concern for those of us with low pre-order reservation numbers.
I'm a fan of the Arcimoto FUV (Fun Utility Vehicle), a three-wheeled electric motorcycle being made in Eugene, Oregon that's been in the works for quite a few years. Retail sales are expected to begin by the end of 2018.
Since I've got a low pre-order reservation number, #129 out of a total of about 3,000 (according to the Portland Business Journal story), I've been thinking about what I need in order to feel comfortable buying one of the first Arcimotos.
A test drive, for sure.
But I've watched lots of short videos where people take an Arcimoto for a spin. Invariably they say it's a lot of fun, and I'm sure I'll agree with them. However, these videos show people in a large parking lot, or, if their test drive is on a road, it's on a nice sunny day, and just for a brief period.
What I'm looking for is a long-term review of the Arcimoto by someone who was able to drive the vehicle in various sorts of conditions -- hot, cold, rainy, dry, in town, out of town, on flat ground, on hilly ground -- for at least a couple of weeks, and ideally a couple of months.
This sort of review is what I've been able to read before I've bought any car, motorcycle, or scooter that I've owned. And usually, if not always, the reviews weren't of a brand-new vehicle, and definitely none were of a brand-new vehicle being sold by a brand-new company.
Which is the case with Arcimoto.
So not only is there a risk involved with buying a vehicle that hasn't gotten much real-world driving experience by independent people (this leaves out Arcimoto staff), there's also another risk that early purchasers of an Arcimoto have to consider -- the risk that this start-up company won't survive.
Arcimoto went public in September last year, raising about $19.5 million. Between cash and certificates of deposit, it reported about $7.4 million on hand as of the end of the [second] quarter. The company has sunk $4.3 million into tooling and manufacturing capital expenditures for the FUV factory, with another $500,000 in spending expected.
In an earnings call, President and CEO Mark Frohnmayer said Arcimoto recently produced the first two of 15 planned beta models. The company is using the beta series to dial in the finer points of the vehicle design and its manufacturing process.
So by the time 2019 rolls around, which isn't far off, seemingly Arcimoto cash reserves are going to be pretty low. A lot will ride on early retail sales of a product that isn't yet finalized.
In my view, this makes it important to have some detailed real-world reviews available of an Arcimoto model that is as close as possible to the final product. I'm sure that I'm not alone in wanting this before I fork out somewhere between $12,000 and $18,000, from what I can tell, for an Arcimoto with the extended range battery (about 130 miles) and other options.
It appears that Arcimoto is following in Tesla's footsteps by selling the first Arcimotos at a higher price than the $11,900 base price. Here's another quote from the Portland Business Journal story.
Arcimoto said it expects to have its retail series in production by the end of the year, unchanged from previous announcements. Initial vehicles will be priced higher than the company's target base price of $11,900, Frohnmayer said, before coming into line with that target in late 2019 or early 2020.
Anyway, I hope Arcimoto will seriously consider putting one, or maybe two, of their beta vehicles in the hands of some local journalists in Eugene.
I bet someone from the Register Guard or Eugene Weekly (alternative paper) would be pleased to ride an Arcimoto in the above-mentioned variety of driving conditions, reporting regularly on their experience in a blog post format, then encapsulating their long-term review in a detailed online report.
As mentioned above, I've benefitted a lot from being able to read this sort of review before buying the vehicles I've owned and enjoyed.
For example, I'd like to know about the Arcimoto:
-- How well do the wipers work in a heavy rain? -- How easy is it to clean the windshield? (polycarbonate, I believe it is) -- Is the windshield prone to scratching? -- How are the headlights on a dark rural road? (I live out in the country) -- Is the estimated remaining battery range accurate? -- How is the lockable storage? (assume this will be available) -- Do the heated seats and grips work well in cold weather?
And of course I'd like to know how enjoyable the Arcimoto is to drive on a daily basis, in various conditions.
Since the Arcimoto is an intriguing blend of motorcycle-like and car-like features, it is difficult to extrapolate the Arcimoto driving experience from all the cars I've owned in my 69 years (lots) and the motorcycles/scooters I've owned (two motorcycles, one scooter).
Other people are going to have the same problem imagining how the Arcimoto will be like to drive year-round. Without a full enclosure, the Arcimoto is going to be much less climate-controlled than a car, while more climate-controlled than a motorcycle, given its basic open-air design, but with a full windshield/roof.
I'm curious to know what sort of clothing someone will want to have on when it is 40, 50, or 60 degrees. Again, most of the Arcimoto videos I've seen have been of people driving it on a warm sunny day, not a cold rainy one. Living as I do in Oregon, I'd like to learn what it's like to ride an Arcimoto in less-than-ideal conditions.
Maybe it won't be possible to have some independent long-term reviews available by the time I have to decide whether to order an Arcimoto. I just would like to be able to read some.
Arcimoto is a Eugene company that's making a cool three-wheeled electric motorcycle billed as a FUV (Fun Utility Vehicle). I was one of the first to plunk down $100 as a pre-order reservation.
My #129 place in line means I'm an early adopter. Or at least, a potential one.
I'm still undecided about whether I'm going to pay upwards of $12,000 for an Arcimoto. The final design hasn't been revealed yet, nor has the final pricing with options.
My experience with being an early adopter of the all-electric Nissan Leaf gives me some pause about jumping headfirst into the Arcimoto buyer-pool.
Before I describe that experience, I'll share some quotes from a recent Washington Post review of the Tesla Model 3.
To date, Teslas have mostly been bought by enthusiasts, who tolerate design flaws, spend hours learning about their vehicles — and don’t take well to critiques. They’re like the first adopters who bought that original iPhone.
...My buddy says he’s happy with his Model 3, but after three weeks he’s still unearthing how to operate it. He says it feels like he’s leveling up in a video game. He’d think twice about getting a Model 3 for his wife, who unlike him isn’t a Silicon Valley engineer. I agree for my family: Tesla’s mass-market car is still for early adopters.
To date only a handful of "beta" Arcimotos are out and about, being driven by early adopters who are helping to refine the vehicle before the production model is finalized.
As the Washington Post story accurately says, early adopters are enthusiasts who enjoy being the first to try out something new, even if it is rough around the edges. I've noted that the comments on a Facebook Arcimoto club seem to run at least 90% positive about the vehicle.
Which makes sense, since virtually everyone who joins the club does so because they find the Arcimoto appealing.
But this gets me to my Nissan Leaf experience. The Leaf was released in the United States in December 2010. We took a test drive in September 2011, and bought a Leaf soon after. We were able to get one that quickly because someone cancelled an order.
So early on, there was a waiting list to buy a Nissan Leaf. The car was in hot demand by people who had been waiting for a quality electric car to hit the market. Somewhat similarly, currently the Arcimoto has over 2,500 $100 pre-order deposits, if I recall correctly.
For various reasons my wife and I decided to sell our Leaf in March 2012, after owning it for only about six months. In that short time demand for the car had changed a lot. After several weeks of advertising it on Auto Trader, we eventually had precisely one person who was seriously interested in buying our blue Leaf.
We gave him a pretty good deal. He had to have the Leaf trucked to his home in eastern Washington, because there was no way he wanted to drive a car home from our house in rural south Salem, Oregon that had a range of well under 130 miles at highway speeds.
This experience taught me that being an early adopter of an electric vehicle has pluses and minuses.
Yes, it's enjoyable to be among the first to own an innovative vehicle. However, once the group of avid early adopters has bought their vehicles, there's a good chance the pool of people interested in buying the vehicle is going to be markedly diminished.
With Arcimoto, there are some additional risks, since Nissan was a well-established company when it introduced the Leaf. There was a network of dealerships that could service the electric car, plus buyers knew Nissan would be around to handle maintenance and repair issues for many years to come.
Arcimoto is a small company that has to build sales and service from scratch. And it is marketing the Arcimoto FUV nationwide, from what I can tell. I've wondered if maybe it would have been wiser to roll out this electric motorcycle only in Oregon at first, or maybe just on the West Coast.
It appears that Arcimoto is planning to ship vehicles anywhere in the country, where, I assume, the company will have to line up places where it can be repaired and serviced. Sure, an electric vehicle needs less maintenance than a gasoline-powered vehicle, but things still will go wrong.
Anyway, living as we do just 50 or so miles north of Arcimoto world headquarters in Eugene, I'm not hugely worried about being left in the lurch should I decide to buy an Arcimoto FUV. However, being an early adopter brings with it some other anxieties, since there won't be much of a buyer experience history once my #129 pre-order number comes up in the production queue.
I've got an early pre-order number, #129, for the Arcimoto FUV (Fun Utility Vehicle), a three-wheeled electric vehicle that's classified as a motorcycle, yet has some desirable car-like features: seat belts, rollover protection, crumple zones, a roof.
The title of my previous post from early July, "I've got both Arcimoto anticipation and anxiety," reflected my generally positive attitude toward this unique vehicle, and also some concerns.
Since, I've given more thought to the pros and cons of becoming an Arcimoto owner. I still haven't driven one, but I've come up with three good reasons why buying an Arcimoto makes sense for me -- and also for other people.
As a preface to those reasons, if the Arcimoto was a Hollywood movie "pitch," it would go something like this:
The Arcimoto is the love child of a three-way coupling between a motorcycle, an electric vehicle, and a sporty car.
Now, as noted in my previous post, I'm familiar with all of those Arcimoto parents.
I've owned both a motorcycle and, more recently, a Suzuki Burgman 650 maxi-scooter. For about a year my wife and I owned an all-electric Nissan Leaf, and we currently have a semi-electric Chevy Volt. I've owned a BMW 325 ix, a Mini Cooper S, and, currently, a VW GTI -- all super-fun cars to drive.
So even though I haven't had a test drive in an Arcimoto yet, I believe I have a pretty good idea of what it will feel like, given my experience with electric cars, two-wheeled motorcycles/scooters, and good handling cars.
This leads me to the three good reasons an Arcimoto likely will find its way into our carport in rural south Salem, Oregon, before too long. (We live about an hour north of Eugene, which is Arcimoto world headquarters.)
(1) It is considerably safer than a motorcycle. There's nothing more fun to drive than a motorcycle or scooter. Also, nothing more dangerous. A three-wheeled motorcycle like the Arcimoto trades some fun for some safety. As noted above, motorcycles don't have seat belts, rollover protection, crumple zones, or a roof.
A main reason why I sold my Burgman 650 scooter was that I didn't like wearing protective clothing, boots, and a helmet whenever I got on it. Yes, you see motorcycle riders in shorts and a t-shirt, but that isn't smart. Not at any age, and particularly at my age (69).
Like a motorcycle, the Arcimoto offers an open-air feel, plus it has a full windshield and transparent roof. I've experienced riding a motorcycle and scooter, so I know the drawbacks of them. The Arcimoto has key motorcycle plus'es, without the minus'es.
Screenshot from an Arcimoto video
(2) It is more fun than a car. I say this with confidence, because I've watched lots of videos of people test-driving an Arcimoto. Also, I have one of the most fun cars to drive, a VW GTI. I can't say anything bad about the GTI fun-wise, aside from this inescapable fact:
It's a car. Motorcycle riders call cars "cages" because that's what they are, even a convertible to a large extent. You simply don't have the open-air experience with a car that you'd have with an Arcimoto.
I'm speaking of an Arcimoto without doors, or with quarter panel doors. A fully enclosed Arcimoto will be offered, but that doesn't appeal much to me, even though I live in often cold, rainy Oregon. I want the feeling of being in the elements. If it's cold, I'd wear a jacket; hot, I'd wear shorts.
One of the things I enjoyed the most about my scooter was how the world was right there.
Even pulling up behind a diesel bus was pleasurable, because the experience was real. Ditto with coming to a stop at an intersection and seeing cyclists, pedestrians, whoever and whatever. All that was right there. I look forward to recapturing that feeling with an Arcimoto.
(3) It's as green as any other electric vehicle. I'm a firm believer in human-caused global warming. I know that we have to reduce carbon emissions. Driving an electric vehicle appeals to me, even though the Nissan Leaf didn't meet our needs, for reasons I described here.
I don't think the Arcimoto makes sense as someone's only means of transportation.
At least, it doesn't make sense for me. We have a dog. I do our weekly family grocery shopping and need a lockable, fully enclosed vehicle for that. But well over half of my trips into town (we live about six miles from the Salem city limits) involve just me driving the VW GTI by myself, with minimal storage needs.
For those trips, an Arcimoto would suit me fine.
And with the larger battery, I'd have up to 130 miles of range. Our experience with the Nissan Leaf, which had a comparable range, was that cold weather driving reduced the range considerably. But even so, most of my trips into town and back are under 30 miles, so that leaves a lot of leeway.
So I look forward to Arcimoto getting into full production. They still are in "beta" mode, so I'm hoping that the final production vehicle will be even better than the current version -- which already is pretty darn good.
I've been following the saga of Arcimoto, a three-wheeled electric FUV (Fun Utility Vehicle) for a long time. So long, I can't remember when I plunked down $100 for a pre-order reservation.
I must have been among the first to do this, since my reservation number is #129, and I believe they total more than 2,700 now. Over the years I've gotten numerous emails from Arcimoto headquarters in Eugene, Oregon, which is just fifty or so miles from where I live, Salem.
It seems like production for retail customers like me is always just around the corner, but that corner keeps receding into the distance. For example, in January 2018 I was told that I could order a vehicle in the 3rd quarter of this year. Yet when I checked a few days ago at the beginning of July, I was told that the 4th quarter was when a vehicle could be ordered.
That led me to ask some additional questions of Arcimoto staff.
I have another question, after reading the recent Register Guard story about Arcimoto.
The story says that 40 units will be built by the end of the year. Yet you told me that with pre-order number 129, I could expect my number to come up in the 4th quarter. I’m trying to reconcile these statements. Sure, it could be that most of the people on the pre-order list won’t actually order an Arcimoto.
But this would require two out of three to not order one. Plus, I’ve read that the next machines to be built are the “beta” ones. So seemingly the 40 units talked about in the story would be beta machines. So aren’t I looking at 2019 for a delivery date?
As long as I’m writing… I also noted a mention of how difficult it was for the Mashable test driver to steer at low speeds. This concerns me, since a FUV should be fun to drive, not difficult to drive. Any comments on her experience? She did say that overall it was fun to drive, though. See:
Lastly, I’d like to suggest that you guys schedule a test drive in Salem.
It’s been sort of strange to follow Arcimoto via Facebook and Twitter over the years, seeing Arcimoto models test driven all around the country, but you’ve never come to Salem, so far as I know.
Yes, I could drive down to Eugene to test drive one before I make a final decision as to whether to purchase one. It just seems like Arcimoto should be focusing a bit more on getting people in Oregon familiar with your vehicle, since you’re an Oregon company,
So that covers the "anxiety" aspect of the part of my brain devoted to thinking about Arcimoto.
Well, not entirely, because the above-linked Register Guard story says that two investors are suing Arcimoto because they feel duped about "excessively optimistic and glowing remarks about Arcimoto’s progress in manufacturing and selling vehicles" made prior to Arcimoto stock being publicly offered.
I don't own stock in Arcimoto, but it concerns me that the company could be on the hook for damages to the investors, which would suck money away from Arcimoto's ability to market and sell a finished product.
OK, let's leave my anxiety aside and turn to my anticipation. That's quite high, because this three-wheel motorcycle has a lot of appeal for me, given my experience with other two and four-wheeled rides of various kinds.
Electric. My wife and I owned a Nissan Leaf for about a year. We sold it mainly because of range anxiety, given that it was my wife's daily driver. We live about six miles from the Salem city limits, so just getting to the outskirts of town and back took up 12 miles of range. Add in cold weather, using the heater or A/C, go up a steep hill, and such, and the range dropped a worrisome degree.
Yet we're still big on electric vehicles, being ardent environmentalists and believers in global warming. We just don't want a pure electric vehicle for our essential driving around.
Now my wife drives a Chevy Volt with gasoline backup, which she likes a lot. Me, not so much. The Volt doesn't have a sun roof, and visibility to the sides and rear is poor. So I drive...
Fun car. A VW GTI, which is a wonderfully enjoyable car. Before that I drove a two-door Mini Cooper S, which also was a lot of fun to drive. Thus I feel like I have a good understanding of what makes a car more than just a way to get around. It's got to have an energetic, well-designed, semi-quirky personality that makes me happy to start it up.
However, I also know this...
Motorcycle/scooter. A $5,000 motorcycle or scooter is more fun than a $100,000 car. After owning a motorcycle in the 1990s, I drove a Suzuki Burgman 650 Executive maxi-scooter from 2009 to 2012. It was way more fun to ride on than either the Mini Cooper or VW GTI was to drive.
As for Hines, he did sell his scooter in 2012 – something he says greatly pleases his wife. "She was worried every time I took off." He says he likes a little risk in his life, "but there are ways to fill that need without risking life and limb." He's taken up skateboarding instead.
Actually it was longboarding, which I'd propel with a paddle rather than my foot. I've given that up also, yet I still like a little risk in my life.
I've considered getting another Suzuki Burgman 650.
However, being almost 70 now, I worry even more about what would happen if I took a fall on it. Bones and muscles take a lot longer to heal at my age. That's why I considered a three-wheeled Can-Am Spyder, and watched a bunch of video reviews of this somewhat safer motorcycle.
In the end I was turned off by how expensive the Spyder is, the fact that you're still just sitting on a seat rather than being strapped in, and the handling characteristics that made motorcycle riders who test drove it say, "I felt like I was going to die." (Because a Spyder doesn't lean, and centrifugal force tries to throw the rider off while turning at speed.)
So this helps explain why I'm attracted to the Arcimoto.
It's electric. We have a level 2 charging station in our carport, so it would charge quickly. Plus, even though I haven't ridden an Arcimoto yet, most videos of test drives show people having fun. Initial reports from early buyers of close-to-final Arcimotos also are positive.
(There's an Arcimoto SRK "FUV" Club on Facebook, and an FUV forum on the web. Both offer some great information on the Arcimoto, unfiltered and based in part on direct experience of early adopters.)
I like that the Arcimoto, though classified as a motorcycle, has these features: no shifting, twin shoulder belts, rollover protection, windshield, windshield wiper, two seats, heated seats and grips, room to carry some stuff, no need to wear a helmet (in Oregon, at least; states differ as to what is required).
Sure, it won't be as fun to drive as a two-wheeled motorcycle, but an Arcimoto is considerably safer. At my age I'm willing to trade some fun for increased safety.
Given that I'd want the extended battery (about 130 mile range, vs. 70 miles for the standard battery), doors of some sort (either half doors or full doors), and likely other options, i'm expecting that an Arcimoto would cost me $18,000 to $20,000. The base price is $11,900.
That's more than a big Burgman scooter (around $12,000) and less than a Can-Am Spyder (around $24,000). It's a lot to pay for basic three-wheeled electric transportation, but the fun factor is what likely will seal the deal for me.
The Arcimoto folks have encountered some dead ends and speed bumps on their lengthy quest to design, market, and sell their vehicle, but they've done one thing very much right: calling it a FUV, Fun Utility Vehicle.
There will be various motivations for buying an Arcimoto, but for me, and lots of others, fun is a primary factor.
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