> feel that it adds some innovative language features like the pipe ("|>") operator and metaprogramming facilities that ease many of the pain points with Erlang

Well both points are valid. Elixir does add some great concepts like the pipe, usable macros and others. But with it comes some complexity -- it is a trade-off. I don't think one is a superset of another. Both will appeal to some people and that's fine. I prefer Erlang, but I hear a lot of people put off by Erlang's syntax, so well maybe Elixir will look better for them.

One thing I am impressed about Elixir is the community -- Jose and the team, did a fantastic job building not just the language but making a friendly and welcoming community, that is hard overstate.