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 on track to break Volkswagen’s historic record in Norway: report
As per Elbil Statistik, Tesla reached 26,127 Norwegian sales so far this year, without counting 13 imported Cybertrucks.
Tesla is surging towards a historic milestone in Norway this month, putting the company on track to break Volkswagen’s long-standing annual sales record in the country.
With 3,732 units sold in November alone and more than 26,000 delivered year-to-date, Tesla is poised to become one of the most successful car brands in Norway’s modern automotive history.
Tesla closes in on Norway’s all-time sales record
Norway’s demand for Tesla vehicles has intensified as drivers attempt to beat the incoming VAT changes on electric cars. Once the VAT changes take effect, the best-selling Model Y could become 50,000 kroner more expensive, as noted in a CarUp report. This has likely caused a rise in sales for Tesla in the country as of late.
As per Elbil Statistik, Tesla reached 26,127 Norwegian sales so far this year, without counting 13 imported Cybertrucks. This places the brand just hundreds of units away from surpassing Volkswagen’s 2016 record of 26,572 annual registrations. With one month left in 2025, it seems all but certain that Tesla will overtake Volkswagen’s all-time record in Norway.
Tesla sees challenges in Sweden
While Norway is delivering historic results, Tesla’s Swedish performance has moved in the opposite direction. Registrations have dropped 68% this year, totaling just 6,147 vehicles so far. November has seen only 291 deliveries, highlighting challenges in the domestic market’s momentum.
Tesla Sweden is also still dealing with an increasing number of union-backed protests and blockades. Despite the pressure, however, Tesla Sweden has maintained its stance, IF Metall union chair Marie Nilsson to urge Elon Musk to reconsider his perception of organized labor. She also stated that Swedish unions are not like their American counterparts, as they are not as combative.
Tesla Full Self-Driving has officially landed in a new country today, its seventh overall after it launched in both Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.
On Sunday, Tesla owners in South Korea reported that the company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) had started arriving in their vehicles. Owners reported that it was v14.1.4, which is not the latest version available in other countries, but is one of the most recent releases Tesla has deployed to drivers:
From 6 to 7
Tesla Full Self-Driving has launched in South Korea; the 7th country to have FSD https://t.co/X6gm1SyoxV
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 23, 2025
This marks the seventh country in which Tesla has enabled its Full Self-Driving suite, following the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.
Tesla launched Full Self-Driving most recently in Australia and New Zealand about three months ago. The expansion is a major breakthrough for the company as it aims to launch Full Self-Driving on a global scale.
However, the company’s biggest challenge thus far has been getting European regulatory agencies to handle the red tape that has inhibited Tesla from launching its semi-autonomous driving suite on the continent. Recently, it admitted that it sees a pathway through Dutch regulatory bodies, which seem to be the most willing to work with Tesla to get FSD in Europe.
Tesla Full Self-Driving appears to be heading to Europe soon
The company said that it has driven over 1 million kilometers safely on European roads across 17 different countries in internal testing. But its path to success will be by “partnering with the Dutch approval authority RDW to gain exemption for the feature. This involves proving compliance with existing regulations (UN-R-171 DCAS) + filing an exemption (EU Article 39) for yet-to-be-regulated behaviors like Level 2 systems off-highway, system-initiated lane changes with hands-off the wheel, etc.”
Perhaps the expansion into Europe will be the biggest challenge for Tesla, but it could also yield major results and advantages for the company moving forward. Tesla said it hopes to have FSD available in Europe sometime early next year.
For now, the expansion in South Korea is the latest win for Tesla and its self-driving efforts. In the U.S., it now turns its focus toward fully autonomous operation, as it works with state agencies to launch Robotaxi outside of Texas, California, and most recently, Arizona.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased the insane capabilities of the next major Full Self-Driving update just hours after the company rolled out version 14.2 to owners.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 had some major improvements from the previous iteration of v14.1.x. We were on v14.1.7, the most advanced configuration of the v14.1 family, before Tesla transitioned us and others to v14.2.
However, Musk has said that the improvements coming in the next major update, which will be v14.3, will be where “the last big piece of the puzzle finally lands.”
14.3 is where the last big piece of the puzzle finally lands
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2025
There were some major improvements with v14.2, most notably, Tesla seemed to narrow in on the triggers that caused issues with hesitation and brake stabbing in v14.1.x.
One of the most discussed issues with the past rollout was that of brake stabbing, where the vehicle would contemplate proceeding with a route as traffic was coming from other directions.
We experienced it most frequently at intersections, especially four-way stop signs.
Elon Musk hints at when Tesla can fix this FSD complaint with v14
In our review of it yesterday, it was evident that this issue had been resolved, at least to the extent that we had no issues with it in a 62-minute drive, which you can watch here.
Some owners also reported a more relaxed driver monitoring system, which is something Tesla said it was working on as it hopes to allow drivers to text during operation in the coming months. We did not test this, as laws in Pennsylvania prohibit the use of phones at any time due to the new Paul Miller’s Law, which took effect earlier this year.
However, the improvements indicate that Tesla is certainly headed toward a much more sentient FSD experience, so much so that Musk’s language seems to be more indicative of a more relaxed experience in terms of overall supervision from the driver, especially with v14.3.
Musk did not release or discuss a definitive timeline for the release of v14.3, especially as v14.2 just rolled out to Early Access Program (EAP) members yesterday. However, v14.1 rolled out to Tesla owners just a few weeks ago in late 2025. There is the potential that v14.3 could be part of the coming Holiday Update, or potentially in a release of its own before the New Year.
Tesla on track to break Volkswagen’s historic record in Norway: report
Tesla Full Self-Driving lands in a new country, its 7th
