Rossi: 10,000 Home-based E-Cats Have Been Ordered

The goal that Andrea Rossi set just over two weeks ago of having people sign up to order 10,000 small E-Cats for domestic use has been met. On the Journal of Nuclear Physics today is this exchange:

Q: As one who has signed up to receive a home plant when they become available I am curious to know if you have attained the 10,000 unit potential orders you are shooting for? Can you tell us the number of requests received to date, or if you have achieved your stated goals, yes or no?

A: Yes.

This achievement shows there is a substantial level of interest in this technology and a considerable amount of trust that people are putting in Andrea Rossi and the things he is saying. Of course since no one has been made to make any payment for these pre-orders yet, so many of them could be considered “soft”; a more true test of customer commitment will be when funds are asked for, and it is unclear when that will happen. If all these pre-orders were to convert to real ones, Rossi would be able to raise at least $54m — potentially much more if orders are still rolling in.

It will be interesting to see what his next step will be. If he asks these potential customers for deposits now he will certainly be opening himself up more to accusations of fraud. No one has seen these E-Cats yet, and it is still unknown whether governmental regulators will allow these units to be used in homes. But if production is to begin, Rossi will be needing funds, and apparently people are to be willing to pay for E-Cats even if they have no solid evidence that they work, or if they will be allowed to use them.