I think the difference with cars is that manufacturers make many more of them. Building bikes is still a very manual process with a lot of human touch, but waaaaay more options available. You see something similar with mountain bikes vs. dirtbikes. How can I get a 300lb machine with full suspension and an entire combustion engine for $3k and an FS MTB, with a fraction of the parts costs the same or more? Well, Honda probably make 50k CRF250s a year or something, and Norco make maybe 1/20th the number for any particular product line?

For $7-8K you can get a Nissan Leaf in excellent condition with a 75-100mi range.

Might be because I live in silicon valley and lots of people have EVs. One tricky thing about the 2013 smart car is that I had to pick it up, which means I had to live at most ~30-40 miles away. And when I sell it, I'll have the same problem, someone within the same radius has to want it. I comparison shopped before buying this, and at the time it didn't seem like an insane deal or anything.