Since Elio Motors announced they were leasing the old GM Plant in Shreveport and intended to build their 3 wheel car here, things haven't exactly gone as planned. According to reports, the car company is struggling to survive. Some reports even suggested that the company had 10s of Millions of dollars in debt but only a few thousand dollars in the bank. Last year it was announced that the company was putting a major portion of its workforce on furlough until further notice.

But, despite their trials and tribulations, the company has found a way to survive. And now its being reported that Elio got a major life line from online retailer Overstock.com. According to a news release, Overstock is purchasing 2.5 million dollars in newly released Elio Common Stock.

Reports say that Overstock CEO and Founder Patrick Byrne was in awe of the car and blown away by the presentation. Byrne said he believes in Elio Motors’ vision, calling the vehicle “a win for America.”

And the Overstock investment is just the start of Elio's new push for funding. The car company also announced 'ElioCoin' cryptocurrency. To help explain what that means, here's a bit of an article from AutoBlog.com:

The cryptocurrency deal will come as a "security token offering" expected to be facilitated by JonesTrading as the first digital token sale led by a major investment bank. Initial tokens will be sold only to institutional accredited investors, with a pre-sale of the ElioCoin also expected. The Verge reports that investors will redeem the cryptocurrency for actual Elio vehicles, though the company isn't ready to detail exactly how that will work. Overstock is also planning a conventional equity investment in the company, it said.

"It is our fondest hope that, once issued and cleared for trading, ElioCoin may trade on the blockchain-based securities trading platform that is in development at (Overstock subsidiary) tZERO," Overstock CEO and founder Patrick M. Byrne said in a statement

It is also rumored that Overstock and some of their partners will invest additional funds in Elio to help get the production wheeling rolling for the company.

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