Bird Global Inc. BRDS, Lime and other ride-share scooter brands took over streets and sidewalks seemingly overnight.
They were a semi-viral sensation, landing their own satire episode on the popular comedy show South Park. The model is becoming unsustainable as sidewalks, entrances and bike racks are packed with various brands of electric scooters, which are becoming a nuisance, as many cities have started banning them inside city limits.
Eli Electric Vehicles, a niche electric vehicle company, is a mission to revolutionize the way people travel in urban environments. The crowdfunding campaign is a way that anyone can invest in an electric vehicle startup.
Electric scooters, which have become popular in recent years, only offer a partial solution to urban transportation problems. Many people are not willing to use scooters in adverse weather conditions, and they are not suitable for transporting multiple people at once. Studies have also shown that electric scooters are not as environmentally friendly as they may seem, with carbon footprints as big as conventional cars and 3.5 times the size of electric vehicles.
Eli Electric has developed mini electric cars designed to transport individuals or families around cities without any environmental problems or parking problems. The vehicles, which are slightly larger than golf carts, have aluminum body frames to minimize their weight and make them as nimble as possible. The two seater cars have extra storage capacity and can carry up to two people, making it ideal for work commutes and higher capacity travel than scooters. Eli ZERO cars are suited for inner city travel with a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour.
The cars carry only 7% of the carbon footprint of conventional vehicles, which is why they have a much smaller carbon footprint than conventional vehicles. Electric vehicles like Tesla are more carbon-intensive to manufacture than gas guzzlers and only become more environmentally friendly after 20,000 miles driven.
While studies have shown that electric vehicles help reduce carbon emissions, it is not enough to meet the government's decarbonization goals. Transport is the biggest source of CO 2 emissions in the American economy, and electrifying transit is the key to reducing emissions.
Studies have shown that people are more likely to adopt environmentally friendly technology when it offers convenience and excitement rather than as a result of environmental moralizing. Eli Electric's vehicles offer both of these benefits and could be an important part of the solution to urban transportation and climate change.
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