Trying Out An ELF
WFAE Charlotte
May 17, 2016
Alternative fuel vehicles are showing up more often on the roads these days, as some drivers look for eco-friendly ways to get around. Hybrids and electric cars are fast enough for the highway. But what if you want something simpler? I recently had a chance to test drive an ELF – an electric assisted bicycle made here in North Carolina.
How Battery-Powered Rides Could Transform Your Commute
Wall Street Journal
May 12, 2016
A new wave of electric-powered vehicles—scooters, longboards, unicycles—is ready to whisk you from your mass-transit stop to your final destination. But are cities ready?
Hanna’s Dream Ride
Durham Herald Sun
April 10, 2016
72-year-old takes cross-country trip on ELF.
Innovation Nation – The ELF
The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation
March 7, 2016
The Elf, is it a bike? Or is it a car? Find out how this solar powered machine might be what you use to get around.
An ELF that drives itself? That’s Organic Transit’s plan, says Durham entrepreneur
Triangle Business Journal
January 7, 2016
You’ve seen them in Durham – those brightly-colored, fully-enclosed, three-wheeled solar-powered car-bike hybrids. At about 150 pounds, Organic Transit’s ELF, the brainchild of Durham transportation entrepreneur Rob Cotter, can park anywhere that’s bike legal in most states. All you need is a cyclist to pedal and steer. But in a few months, Cotter says an autonomous prototype will be unveiled – one that drives itself, no rider required. Regulatory issues and partnerships aside, it could theoretically be ready for the streets in a year, he says.
“ELF” On Wheels
Electric bike (KTVL / Ashley Carrasco)
November 4, 2015
If you have never seen an elf on wheels take a look at this. “Elf” is short for electric, light, and fun. You can pedal or use the electric motor.The Elf also runs on solar power.The owner of the head turner lives in Medford. He said it not only keeps him in shape but it saves him money.
“It’s a big savings because compared to what I was going to get which was a regular car. Also insurance, a couple hundred dollars per vehicle. Registration costs something,” said Seth Ceteras.
Earth Day Across America
Parade names Organic Transit to represent North Carolina
Parade Magazine
April 17, 2015
Are you a short-distance commuter? Then check out Organic Transit, a Durham-based company that has created a cross between a bicycle and a car called the ELF. A bug-like contraption with an enclosed cab, it has three wheels, pedals, a solar panel and a rechargeable battery (the ELF does not use gasoline). A standard ELF seats one (like a bike) and can go 14 miles without pedaling.
A look at ELF, the solar-powered bicycle-car hybrid
CBS Evening News
March 8, 2015
It’s called the ELF, a solar-powered bike-car hybrid that’s turning up in cities across the country. Costing $5,500, the transportation requires no insurance or gasoline. Vicente Arenas took a test drive and talks about how the bike-car hybrid works.
The ELF could replace a car for a lot of people
treehugger
March 3, 2015
I can see that in an urban milieu it could easily replace a car and since it is legally a bike, you don’t have to pay for parking or worry about rush hour parking and stopping restrictions. It costs less to buy than a car costs to operate for a year and gets the equivalent of 1800 miles to the gallon.
Eco-friendly bike-cars
CNN Money
February 17, 2015
CNN Money highlights Organic Transit, a startup that is reimagining the world.
In-Between a Bike and a Car
Citylab
February 6, 2015
The makers of the ELF believe their enclosed, three-wheeled, low-carbon vehicle is the perfect transportation compromise.
Doc Commutes By Sun-Powered ELF
New Haven Independent
February 16, 2015
Seth Powsner, a professor of psychiatry and emergency medicine at the Yale Medical School, commutes to work in an ELF.
The Car That Runs on Sunshine and Sweat
BBC – Autos
June 9, 2014
In a perfect world, someone would invent a small personal vehicle that runs on nothing but sunshine and calories – and carries a week’s worth of groceries, for good measure. Don’t look now, but it’s already here.
Legally blind Waldo County man seeks help buying solar-powered tricycle to get around
The Bangor Daily News
May 15, 2014
“Imagine if you couldn’t drive, and had to walk everywhere you needed to go,” Danna said. “I think people take being able to drive for granted a lot of the time. If I could do that, I would. But I can’t.” A bicycle, Danna said, is something that he can ride — even though the ELF doesn’t look like an ordinary bicycle.
Eco-friendly Electric Tricycle Turns Heads
USA Today
May 2, 2014
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Laura Brusky rolled into a restaurant parking lot riding in an enclosed tricycle that looked something like a big white egg, but she was there to work, not eat.
Sun-powered trike on Kent State University’s campus is first in the state: Higher Education Roundup
cleveland.com
April 22, 2014
The greening of Kent State University’s campus this spring includes the state’s first “sun-powered trike.” The ELF (electric, light, fun) pedal vehicle is owned by Paulette Washko, director of research compliance. It is one of about 400 manufactured by Organic Transit of Durham, N.C. It costs about $5,000.
Organic Transit, in new Durham headquarters, eyes growth
The Herald-Sun
April 16, 2014
The building previously housed a plumbing supply business. Cotter said they knocked down walls and put glass in the garage doors to let in light and installed energy efficient LED lights, among other improvements. In the offices and showroom in the front, a window offers a glimpse into the assembly room where workers were working on new ELFs in various stages.
This velomobile is basically an electric car without the hassle
grist
April 16, 2014
A team from Durham, N.C., designed the semi-enclosed, three-wheeled contraption to marry the best aspect of bikes and cars. The result is a low-impact EV that gives you some protection from the elements and plenty of room for groceries. Pedal when you can, but let the solar-powered battery kick in if you’re hauling bags of kitty litter uphill.
Meet the ELF: An American-built solar-powered trike
treehugger
April 8, 2014
I’ve taken one for a test-ride over at MNN but somehow, so far, we have yet to write about Organic Transit’s ELF. This has to be corrected. With Lloyd calling for a recall of the car, and with Twitter alive with #ReplaceBikeWithCar, the topic of a pedal/solar-powered hybrid vehicle that’s specifically designed to get the cycle-challenged out of their cars has never been more timely.
Ride an ELF bike-car to work and skip the shower
USA Today
March 31, 2014
Organic Transit completed its first full year of ELF production this March. There are now more than 300 ELFs on the road, and the company can already a boast a very high-profile driver: comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who purchased his vehicle last summer.
The ELFman of Asheville
Mountain Xpress
November 13, 2013
At first glance, it looks like something from the movie Roger Rabbit. You’re driving along and you notice a giant, green cartoonish insect traveling the opposite lane. But wait. No. That’s an actual vehicle, and it’s holding its own in the traffic. If you drive around Asheville often, you will see this vision sooner or later, along with its 68-year-old driver, Bill Curtis. He is the happy owner and driver of Asheville’s very first ELF.
Elf Electric Pedal Car: When 1 Horsepower Is Enough
The Wall Street Journal
July 12, 2013
Rob Cotter, a former performance engineer and top-gun tuner with Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, knows how to go fast. Now he wants to make a go at going slow. Mr. Cotter is the founder and CEO of the Durham, N.C.-based Organic Transit, which makes the Elf: an ovoid, semi-enclosed, solar-chargeable, plug-in, bike-lane-legal, electric pedal car.
NC Now | Organic Transit ELFs
UNC-TV
June 20, 2013
With gas prices soaring, car emissions straining the environment and people spending more time in traffic instead of the great outdoors, a Durham company has developed a solution. It’s called the ELF. Stephanie Bourland takes us to Organic Transit where they’re producing solar electric assisted bikes. These vehicles combine the ease of a car with the benefits of a bicycle.
Will the ELF, from Durham-based Organic Transit, save the planet?
Indy Week
May 29, 2013
Take a spin in the ELF, a category-defying new vehicle built here in Durham, and prepare to have this question shouted at you by passing motorists. And bicyclists. And people on the sidewalk. Park in a public place, and get ready for an onslaught:
“Does it have a motor? How fast does it go? How much does it cost?”
Solar-pedal vehicle draws stares, questions
WTOP | Washington’s Top News
May 24, 2013
Parked in the Idylwood Plaza shopping center, the 5-foot-tall, 8-foot-long eye- catcher prompted passersby to stop, look, touch, and in most cases, smile. “This is the ELF — it’s an electric-assisted trike,” says Pete Warasila, owner of the vehicle, and investor in the project now being produced by Organic Transit, a North Carolina company.
In the future, tricycles will solve all our problems?
Sierra
May 5, 2013
Adult tricycles—even e-tricycles—are already a thing. But are they cute enough? North Carolina start-up Organic Transit is addressing that problem with the Elf, a pedal-electric solar-powered tricycle that makes low-carbon conveyance easy and adorable.
Are these ‘the most efficient vehicles on the planet’?
Mother Nature Network
April 22, 2013
Walking into the headquarters of Organic Transit, a North Carolina-based developer of what it calls “the most efficient vehicles on the planet,” I was struck by a decidedly disorienting feeling. At first glance it was hard to put my finger on where that feeling was coming from. And then it hit me. People were actually making things.
Eco-commuters, behold the solar-savvy $4,000 Elf tricycle
CNET
March 6, 2013
Some vehicles don’t fit easily into one category or another. Organic Transit’s Elf — a battery-boosted, solar-powered, covered tricycle — is definitely one such device. The 92-pound vehicles have an aluminum frame with a lightweight cover attached to keep the elements off the rider and whatever is in its modest trunk. On its roof is a 60-watt solar panel that can be used to trickle-charge its lithium iron phosphate battery.
ELF: Hybrid Solar / Pedal Vehicle by Organic Transit
Übergizmo
March 4, 2013
Founded by CEO Rob Cotter in April 2012 in North Carolina, Organic Transit went through 6 prototypes starting from June 2012 before coming with 9 beta models similar, to the one you see in the picture. Fifty one production models are currently being produced with the money raised on Kickstarter, they will be introduced to the market later this month, thanks to the 51 lucky owners who financed the production.
Solar-powered Elf: Rides like a bike, drives like a dream
HLN
February 11, 2013
How would you like to get around on a bicycle, but have a little help when you get tired of pedaling and something that’s more visible than a traditional bike? Say hello to the Elf. It’s a three-wheeled pedaler that can go where a bicycle goes and has a solar-powered motor that kicks in when you need it.
Organic Transit appears on NBC’s ‘Today’ show
The Herald-Sun
January 18, 2013
Organic Transit, the Durham-based company that’s been working on to produce a solar-or-pedal-powered consumer velomobile, is scheduled to be on NBC’s “Today”. Rob Cotter and another employee were in New York City Thursday to meet with producers of Today. “We couldn’t really ask for bigger exposure than that, and we’re very excited that we’re going to be on there.”
Introducing the Elf
Living on Earth
January 11, 2013
So, among your new year’s resolutions – maybe there’s one that has to do with getting more exercise – getting out on a bike perhaps. But the dangers of bike riding in the short dark days of winter and the problems of arriving disheveled can put you off. Well, today we report on a new invention that could be an answer for those problems, the Elf.
Organic Transit ELF
Bicycle Design
January 10, 2013
Not all that far from where I live, a small group of people are building innovative solar/pedal powered velomobile trikes in a former furniture warehouse in downtown Durham, North Carolina. As I mention this made in the USA eco-friendly vehicle, I am looking out my hotel window in Shanghai, a city where cars and trucks are increasing doing work that was done by human power not all that many years ago.
Hands-On With Organic Transit’s Pedal-Solar Electric Hybrid Vehicle, “The Elf”
TechCrunch
July 17, 2012
Our week in the Southeast gave us plenty of memorable moments, but perhaps my favorite of the entire trip was when I stumbled upon the Elf — a pedal-solar electric hybrid vehicle from Organic Transit in Durham, NC. It’s one of those products that — given the right financing and marketing — could be completely disruptive in Urban areas.
