Thanks for the reply, you're clearly well informed about all the issues. I have some ideas but those are tough problems.

if you want it to be easy to get in and out of, crank forward, or feet forward bicycles are a pretty good idea

Yeah normal SWB recumbent bicycles are the easiest to hop oh and off and do improve aerodynamics. Personally I also want to build a MBB flevobike design where you steer with your feet, people say they are very fun to ride. Generally recumbents are faster, more comfortable and safer (lower to the ground) than upright.

For velomobiles, the podbike is pioneering the "low entry hurdle". Not having to "climb in" but just "step in and sit down"" makes a huge difference in marketing I believe. Getting in and out doesn't have to be that tricky like with pure velomobiles, the orca velomobile also improved this. You don't really need compromises to make that happen and you reduce the "niche" factor.

We also gotta ask why you’re covering it.

Yeah windscreen with rain and condensation is why the best practice right now is to only have a tiny visor that can have advanced coating or double glass motorcycle visor. There are potential solutions for larger windscreen but it gets tricky, like heated glass or coatings or double panels or design of a new type of aerodynamic wiper, real glass on the outside to avoid scratches etc.

One reason why I think covering it is important is because an enclosed "private" space is what makes cars so popular. I can't exactly put my finger on it but if velomobiles could replicate that feeling of "being in your own car" it could make these types of "velocars" more popular and lead to less people driving cars.

Again, Podbike is the best design for this but it's too heavy (65kg) and doesn't have efficient mechanical transmission. But they have a ton of interest and preorders because they consequently designed to make it appealing - if they could get the costs down to say 1000-2000€ for something like that and lighter, you would be looking at a massive market. Price is the major hurdle really but that is a question of investment and maybe subsidies. And maybe robotics to build them. Or ship them from China.

It’s also kind of inherently a niche product

I don't see why that would be inherent. You're right that scooters or pedelecs have inherent advantages in a dense city, but for medium commutes I don't see a fundamental hurdle for velo cars. If the cycle infrastructure is improved too. There are might be technical solutions to improve turning radius.

You can also stand the podbike vertically on it's back to save parking space. Not sure how practical that is though haha.

And yeah there are a lot of too heavy velo car concepts. We need to find the right compromise between pure velomobile (e.g quest, quadro etc) and a more practical and open inviting velomobile.