Infinite Machine e-scooter is like the offspring of a Vespa and a Cybertruck

hands on Infinite Machine, a New York-based electric vehicle startup, began with a stolen Vespa. 

Eddie Cohen, president and co-founder of the company, told The Register that he and his brother Joseph were living together during the COVID outbreak.

"His Vespa had gotten stolen and we just kinda had this crazy idea … if we were to design one for the future that was all-electric, had the best technology, what would it look like? What would it feel like?" Cohen explained.

As I stood beside P1, a $10,000 electric seated scooter, and Olto, a $3,495 bike-lane legal class 2 e-bike, that question had been answered. The brothers' company started shipping the P1 to customers in October and expects to deliver Olto in early 2026. 

"We just started dabbling and we came up with P1, you know, just a sketch," said Cohen, who had a background in product design. "And then, over the subsequent two or three years, we just continued to noodle on it. Nights and weekends, we both had other jobs."

In January, 2024, he said, Infinite Machines became their full-time job. He and his brother assembled a team and began moving from sketch to actual product.

"So P1 is a plated, M-class vehicle," said Cohen, meaning drivers should be licensed for motorcycles unless they only use it in Mode 1, where speed is capped at 30 mph. 

"It goes 65 miles an hour, 60-mile range. The battery is in the floor. It fits two people. It has a full touchscreen – 8.5" display – that has what we call Phone Connect. So it connects to your iPhone, you get Maps. Music, etc. It has whisper-quiet acceleration. It's kind of like riding a Tesla for the first time, but it's even more surreal because it's silent."

The P1, said Cohen, was designed from scratch. "All of the componentry is custom-toolled and developed. That's not a trivial thing."

He pointed to the fender for example. It's not off the shelf. 

"We designed it," he said. "We made the tooling. We made the molds, and made it so that the engineering works just because we actually care about the details."

It's an opinionated design. The use of anodized aluminum and steel makes comparisons with the Tesla Cybertruck unavoidable. But the DMC DeLorean is an equally apt comparison, perhaps more so given the challenging nature of startup vehicle companies.

"We were inspired by the Cybertruck," said Cohen, "but we didn't set out to design the Cybertruck of scooters. We used it as one reference point in a lineage of vehicles, like Marcelo Gandini and the Lancias back in the day. The Diablo, the Countach, the DeLorean, like these are all references that we love."

Cohen added that the plan is to explore future colors, and variants for specific markets like police and other first responders.

Your correspondent had the opportunity to take the P1 for a spin in San Francisco and it was a thrill – it's fun, fast, and handles well. I'm not by nature a rider of scooters or motorcycles, though I've enjoyed the lazy ease of electric bikes. Were I a younger man, more willing to mix it up among motorists without the protection of an automotive frame, airbags, and a seatbelt, I'd be looking seriously at the P1 or the more modest Olto for urban transportation.

The P1 includes just the right number of physical buttons, with well-conceived software and hardware. It features secure storage, front and rear cameras, phone-based keyless access, and GPS location tracking, among other niceties. It relies on a Linux fork called IMOS, Infinite Machine OS.

Presently, there's no AI on-board – which this reporter considers a selling point. Cohen recounted how someone had asked the company's head of systems what AI is being explored. "He kind of was like, 'Look, they're expensive, right? You put a Nvidia chip on here and you put a camera and it's expensive. It adds to the [bill-of-materials] cost. And it's not obvious that there is value there."

He added however that the company has ideas for ways AI might be useful to improve the safety of two-wheeled vehicles.

Software applications for the vehicles will be developed in time. Cohen said that Infinite Machine does gather data to understand how people are using its vehicles, but does so in a way that respects privacy.

"So we don't know anything about the individual rider and we have anonymized everything," he said. "We care about rider privacy. We also care about, like, you buy this vehicle, it's just gonna work. Like you don't have to pay a subscription ever. It's just gonna work all the time and it's your vehicle. But we do anonymize and track usage."

Cohen said he expects the target market in the US will be those who appreciate technology and design. "They want something that's new and they want the best," he said.

"In 2025, the ultimate luxury is really time and freedom to do what you want. And P1 saves you time. It's the fastest and best way to get around any city like in San Francisco, this thing is liberating. It's amazing. It handles the hills totally well. You can park it anywhere. You don't have to spend 30 minutes looking for a spot. You get to live life on your own terms."

Cohen expects the Olto will have broader appeal. 

"For Olto, I think it's for everyone," he said "I think it's the mom in Brooklyn dropping her kids to school. I think it's the person that is single and wants to commute to work. I think it's the SoCal kid that's going to school. This is an accessible vehicle. It's very easy to ride, very approachable, and affordable." ®