Arcimoto CEO Mark Frohnmayer and I chatted about the new Mean Lean Machine Cybertrike. This is Part 2 and the final part of my interview with Mark. If you haven’t read Part 1, you can go back and read that here.
Starting from where we left off, Mark was speaking about Arcimoto’s acquisition of Tilting Motor Works and shared how the team incorporated the technology into the MLM Cybertrike.
The MLM acronym itself
Mark and I joked about the acronym which also stands for multi-level marketing.
“People are like, ‘did you know that Mean Lean Machine is MLM?’ And I’m like, ‘of course I know that,’ and they’re like ‘well don’t you know that MLMs are bad?’ and I’m like, ‘Not this one! It’s actually the ultimate multi-level marketing scheme. Every one of our customers will sell them.”
Here, Mark is referring to word-of-mouth marketing which is something that has served Tesla well. Owners will share their experiences with their friends who will be inspired to buy one.
Making Things That Sell Themselves
The topic of MLMs opened up another conversation about selling and Mark pointed out that the best thing to do is make things that sell themselves.
“For a long time, I actually loathed the selling process but the best thing to do is to make things that sell themselves.”
I agreed with Mark on this point. Make something that you love and people will see it and be inspired.
“Absolutely. And if all I do is just tell people honestly my experience with and how I feel about the Fun Utility Vehicle, the Roadster, and the Cybertrike, I kinda just can’t help myself.”
“I’m just like, ‘it’s so awesome! You must try it! And then you’ll probably want one.’”
The Arcimoto MLM vehicle Tiers
Mark said that there are three tiers or versions of the Mean Lean Machine.
“The Cybertrike is the only one that we have shown what the actual final product is going to look like. But we talked a little bit about the Sidewinder which is going to be the base model.”
“There’s an entry-level model and we’ve not announced pricing yet for any of these but will be coming soon. Then there’s the Cybertrike and then the true Mean Lean Machine that is going to be on the high end. Both of those other ones are in the works and we are very excited to show those when they’re ready.”
A point made at the Arcimoto Ramp It Up! Event
During the Ramp It Up! event that Arcimoto held in February, Mark made a very critical point about the weight of other EVs and the use of materials–especially since we are having supply chain constraints.
In the video, Mark shared an example. The General Motors electric Hummer weighs 9,036 pounds.
“This is a vehicle that when driven alone is more than 40 times the weight of its occupant. That is enough material to build two Model Ys. If we hit our targets, it’s enough material to build eight Fun Utility Vehicles.”
Mark further explained to me that the same material for that Hummer can produce approximately 100 Mean Lean Machines.
The real purpose of Arcimoto’s program.
Mark told me the real purpose of Arcimoto’s MLM program is to make an e-bike class vehicle that appeals to a much wider audience while using a fraction of the material cost of a full-sized car.
“When you think about the real purpose of this whole program, it’s to make an e-bike class vehicle that can appeal to a much wider audience. People who don’t want to fall off a bike, or don’t want to brake a chain, who want to carry a lot more stuff and want a more comfortable ride.
“But provide that at a tiny fraction of the material cost of a full-sized car. And if we follow the news on the limiting factors of electric vehicles, a bit limiting factor is the availability of raw materials to produce vehicles.
“Given that that is the case, we believe that it makes all the sense in the world to really rethink how big the vehicles are that we are using to get around. And that really is the purpose of the Mean Lean Machine.”
“It’s to provide something so awesome in the true micro-mobility e-bike class that it really starts to move the market in ways that it’s still not moving fast enough right now.”
News
Tesla adjusts Robotaxi safety monitor strategy in Austin with new service area
The positioning of the driver, as well as the driver’s hands being closer to the steering wheel, is more similar to what Tesla is doing in the Bay Area Robotaxi program than it is to what it has done in Austin.
Tesla has adjusted its Robotaxi safety monitor strategy in Austin after it expanded its service area in the city last week for the third time.
Tesla has been operating its Robotaxi platform in Austin since June 22. The vehicles have been operated without a driver, but Tesla has placed safety monitors in the passenger’s seat as a precaution.
The safety monitors are responsible for performing any necessary interventions and maintaining a safe and comfortable cabin for riders as they experience Tesla’s first venture into the driverless ride-sharing space.
Last week, Tesla expanded its service area in Austin for the third time, expanding it from about 90 square miles to 170 square miles. The expansion included new territory, including the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas, and several freeways.
Tesla Robotaxi geofence expansion enters Plaid Mode and includes a surprise
The freeway is an area that is uncharted territory for the Tesla Robotaxi program, and this fact alone encouraged Tesla to switch up its safety monitor positioning for the time being.
For now, they will be riding in the driver’s seat when routes require freeway travel:
Sept 1 in Austin and our Robotaxi arrived with Tesla safety driver in the driver seat, similar to the Bay area (no logo on the car). Here’s that first moment when I realized, our autonomous car was heading onto the freeway. pic.twitter.com/1QfyN2Ubzf
— Gail 🇺🇸 (@gailalfaratx) September 2, 2025
The positioning of the driver, as well as the driver’s hands being closer to the steering wheel, is more similar to what Tesla is doing in the Bay Area Robotaxi program than it is to what it has done in Austin.
This is sure to draw criticism from skeptics, but it is simply a step to keep things controlled and safe while the first Robotaxi drives take passengers on the highway with this version of the Full Self-Driving software.
This FSD version differs from the one that customers have in their own vehicles, but CEO Elon Musk has indicated something big is coming soon. FSD v14 is coming to vehicles in the near future, and Musk has said its performance is pretty incredible.
Tesla’s Elon Musk shares optimistic teaser about FSD V14: “Feels sentient”
News
Tesla has best month ever in Turkey with drastic spike in sales
Tesla managed to sell 8,730 Model Y vehicles in Turkey, outpacing almost every competitor by a substantial margin. Only one brand sold better than Tesla in August in Turkey, and it was Renault.
Tesla had its best monthly performance ever in Turkey in August, thanks to a drastic spike in sales.
Tesla saw an 86 percent bump in sales of the new Model Y in Turkey in August compared to July, dominating the market.
The performance was one of Tesla’s best in the market, and the company’s sales for the month accounted for half of all EV sales in Turkey for August, as it dominated and led BYD, which was the second-best-selling brand with just 1,639 units sold.
Tesla managed to sell 8,730 Model Y vehicles in Turkey, outpacing almost every competitor by a substantial margin. Only one brand sold better than Tesla in August in Turkey, and it was Renault.
Turkey reported 8,730 Tesla sales and 10.6% market share in August. BEV penetration is 21.3% and Tesla has 49.9% of this segment. 🇹🇷
• Market share is 558 basis points or 111% above the 3-month trailing average of 5.0%
• Tesla second best-selling brand
• Model Y best-selling… pic.twitter.com/qLhX7VQWXp— Roland Pircher (@piloly) September 2, 2025
Electric vehicles are, in some ways, more desirable than their gas counterparts in Turkey for several reasons. Most of the reasoning is financial.
First, EVs are subject to a lower Special Consumption Tax in Turkey. EVs can range from 25 percent to up to 170 percent, but this is less than the 70 to 220 percent rate that gas-powered vehicles can face. The tax is dependent on engine size.
Additionally, EVs are exempt from the annual Motor Vehicle Tax for the first ten years, providing consumers with a long-term ownership advantage. There are also credits that can amount to $30,000 in breaks, which makes them more accessible and brings down the cost of ownership.
Let’s not forget the other advantages that are felt regardless of country: cheaper fuel costs, reduced maintenance, and improved performance.
The base Model Y is the only configuration available in Turkey currently.
News
Tesla is upgrading airbag safety through a crazy software update
“This upgrade builds upon your vehicle’s superior crash protection by now using Tesla Vision to help offer some of the most cutting-edge airbag performance in the event of a frontal crash.”
Tesla is upgrading airbag safety through a crazy software update, which will utilize the company’s vision-first approach to enable better protection in the event of an accident.
Over the years, Tesla has gained an incredible reputation for prioritizing safety in its vehicles, with crash test ratings at the forefront of its engineers’ minds.
This has led to Tesla gaining numerous five-star safety ratings and awards related to safety. It is not just a statistical thing, either. In the real world, we’ve seen Teslas demonstrate some impressive examples of crash safety.
Everything from that glass roof not caving in when a tree falls on it to a Model Y surviving a drive off a cliff has been recorded.
However, Tesla is always looking to improve safety, and unlike most companies, it does not need a physical hardware update to do so. It can enhance features such as crash response and airbag performance through Over-the-Air software updates, which download automatically to the vehicle.
In Tesla’s 2025.32 Software Update, the company is rolling out a Frontal Airbag System Enhancement, which aims to use Tesla Vision, the company’s camera-based approach to self-driving, to keep occupants safe.
The release notes state (via NotaTeslaApp):
“This upgrade builds upon your vehicle’s superior crash protection by now using Tesla Vision to help offer some of the most cutting-edge airbag performance in the event of a frontal crash. Building on top of regulatory and industry crash testing, this release enables front airbags to begin to inflate and restrain occupants earlier, in a way that only Tesla’s integrated systems are capable of doing, making your car safer over time.”
The use of cameras to predict a better time to restrain occupants with seatbelts and inflate airbags prior to a collision is a fantastic way to prevent injuries and limit harm done to those in the vehicle.
The feature is currently limited to the Model Y.
Tesla adjusts Robotaxi safety monitor strategy in Austin with new service area
Tesla has best month ever in Turkey with drastic spike in sales
Tesla is upgrading airbag safety through a crazy software update
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