Tesla may be leading the world in four-wheeled electric vehicles, but CEO Elon Musk might still have a thing or two to learn about electric three-wheelers. His first experience test riding an Arcimoto FUV electric car ended with him crashing it into a brick wall, claims Arcimoto’s CEO Mark Frohnmayer.
Elon Musk crashed Arcimoto into brick wall
Frohnmayer explained in a recent interview with HyperChange that sometime around fall 2019, Musk got a bit more than he bargained for during a test ride of Arcimoto’s Fun Utility Vehicle (FUV).
“Elon is the very first one to ever crash an Arcimoto, a production Arcimoto,” explained Frohnmayer.
“He jumped into the driver’s seat of Adeo’s Arcimoto and promptly drove it into a brick wall,” continued Frohnmayer, referencing an FUV belonging to Silicon Valley investor Adeo Ressi.
Elon was apparently uninjured in the crash, and it took nearly a year for the incident to come to light.
At the rate that Arcimoto is planning to increase its currently low-volume production, perhaps one banged-up Arcimoto might not be missed. While the company has only produced around 130 vehicles in the last year at its Eugene, Oregon-based factory, Arcimoto has plans to increase production to 50,000 vehicles per year within the next two years.
Unlike most electric vehicles vying for mass production, the FUV isn’t a traditional four-wheeler, though.
The vehicle uses a tadpole trike design with a single rear wheel and a semi-enclosed cabin.
It can carry two occupants seated tandem-style and offers a more thrilling ride somewhere between a motorcycle and a car.
The FUV can reach a top speed of 75 mph (121 km/h) and sports an estimated city range of 102.5 miles (165 km). Arcimoto claims that the FUV reaches an efficiency of 173.7 MPGe.
The American-made FUV currently starts with an MSRP of $17,900, though Arcimoto is aiming to bring that price down to just $12,000 once production ramps up to sufficient volume.
The company also recently released a new model with a chopped top known as the ROADSTER. Unlike the covered models that don’t require riders to wear a helmet, the ROADSTER is likely to fall under motorcycle regulations and require the rider and passenger to wear a DOT-approved helmet.
With his track record, though, it might be a good idea for Musk to wear a helmet even in the semi-enclosed version.
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