Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tons of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by the wear and tear of normal driving, eventually accumulate in the soil, in rivers and lakes, and even in our food. Researchers in South China recently found tire-derived chemicals in most human urine samples.
Cheap is a very relative term and I doubt you can reach an equivalent gas powered two stroke on the same budget.
In Asia they use these vehicles as their main mode of transportation, meaning they also need to have power, travel far and carry their family or shopping. Where I live people use these vehicles on the highway and e-bikes have legal restrictions and documentation. Good luck reaching the minimum required speed with an unlicensed self built ebike.