Elio Motors, first HYPO-equity crowdfunded, rises above $ 1B valuation days after the list of shared resources

Elio Motors - the automaker starting with the space age, tricycles - has exceeded $ 1 billion market valuation, day after becoming the first company capital crowdfunded to list its shares on the markets public.

The high valuation, $ 1.3 billion at market close on Monday, is the latest sign of success for crowdfunded companies after years of twists and turns as a result of the Employment Act 2012, which sought to increase funding for entrepreneurs and small businesses during the recession.

Rules crowdfunding allow companies to raise funds from non-accredited investors (read: not millionaires), and a new version of these rules, scheduled to take effect in May, will allow companies to get even smaller amounts of money (up to $ 1 million). Elio, based in Phoenix, was the first small to list shares in public markets following a mini-IPO possible by new regulations securities company, and is expected to ad to be a harbinger of what will come in the next few years.

"Nobody believed we could sell these cars [] in significant volume," said Elio Elio founder Paul in a press conference last week, noting that 50,000 cars have been booked to date. "We did it at a time when no one wanted to do the IPO."

In the annals of crowdfunding, Elio was a standout: His high-profile campaign in StartEngine crowdfunding platform raised $ 17 million from 6,600 investors, and earned both praise and criticism for its innovative vehicle tricycles. The car will be cheap Elio time (with a base price of $ 6,800) and low fuel consumption (with a fuel efficiency of 84 miles per gallon).

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