No , actually, it could be converted to a standard six-speed. It has a deraileur hanger, and the width is six-speed in width; HOWEVER, it would need a new freewheel, as this gear cluster is NOT a freewheel, . It does NOT ratchet, and the Crankset is where the freewheel ratchet pawls are!
The Chain stays in motion while the bike is coasting!

There's a whole host of possibilities - the crankset could be used to allow the chain to move, when the pedals are NOT, which would be very useful if one was to install a mid-drive (chain drive) E-bike motor. (It makes me nervous that the mid drive motors force the pedals to turn, I think someone could get mangled). That would then need a recumbent frame to give the space needed for a mid drive motor.

May be true, but my test ride showed that at least it doesn't jump out of gear, or make a clickety-clack noise between gears, which is what I half expected.

I have never understood the appeal of these bikes because shifting just isn't that hard to figure out. Also, I want to know when it is going to shift, so; a quality derailler and shifter (SRAM XO) work just fine for me.

Here's something to mess with your mind:

If you take an Autobike and replace the crankset with one from a normal bike (as mentioned, the Autobike has a freewheeling front crank), would you end up with a six-speed fixie? You could have all the fun of being forced to pedal all the time, without being restricted to a single speed! I think the market value of my Autobike just went up tenfold. A rolling oxymoron...multi-speed fixed gear bike.

I think your line of reasoning is correct, however, there would need to be some kind of screw installed to prevent the gear cluster from unscrewing itself from the hub.

The other problem would be chain tension; when back-pedalling, the chain would be pulled tight on the bottom, and the "dummy" deraileur would be pulled forward, and the slack would then be on the top part of the chain, .

So, really the answer is NO, it can't be done.

This is correct. Besides the issue with the deraileur binding up, the six speed non-freewheel "freewheel" is actually not completely fixed. It will not freewheel but the sprockets are designed to slip if the chain jams up.

The Autobike is still sitting in front of the thrift store. I went by on my Trek 720 to look at the asking price (remember, I sold it to them for twenty-five dollars). Well, they are asking $119.00 for it. Quite a markup.

Also, last week , I saw another Autobike locked to a pillar in front of marra's pizza, and that one had been converted to standard, manual shifting- the rear wheel was chromed steel (not aluminum), it had a thumb shifter mounted inward of the brake lever, and it had a triple crankset, but no front deraileur.