Production Imminent: 40 Solar-Charging Aptera EVs Coming Soon

TeaVMFan

Recently Aptera announced they have ordered major components to build 40 production vehicles. This may not sound like many (especially since they have nearly 50,000 reservations), but this is a major milestone for the company. Aptera has existed in some form for nearly 20 years, never having come this close to shipping a vehicle before. Now they have only 1 major certification left and are ramping up to build them at their facility in Carlsbad, CA.

dweisinger

It seems kind of amazing. I think I'd like to own something like that, but I'll wait until there are some reviews and the bugs get shaken out more. Also don't know if foggy San Francisco has enopugh sunlight to make it viable. What happens when you run out of charge?

hhh

anyone have a breakdown of the math for charging this stuff solar only?

omgwtfbyobbq

Good for them. I loved the concept since I first saw it in the 2000s. They still have a niche for some, like people without easy access to charging, people who want the absolute lowest charging/driving costs, and off-grid usability. 20-40 miles of charge per day means you can slowly travel/camp in a bunch of places as long as you have food/water, people have done this with Model Ys too, but dragging a large portable solar array is a pain. I just wish they were faster to market and captured more of it. We need more 2 seat/hyper efficient commuters, ala the first gen Insight and (begrudgingly) cybercab.

amazingamazing

Add some protected bike lanes - many e-bikes get 100miles, 4 200w panels ($1000) could fully charge daily.

archonis

Are people still falling for Aptera's nonsense?

arjie

I suppose the surface area + efficiency isn't there yet, but it would be sick to take my e-bike places and then expand a canopy to charge and then go on again.

discordance

There’s a Chinese EV called the Solarky that has 600w of panels on it (300w with another 300w that slides out when stationary), which can collect about 50km of range a day, and sells right now for around $10k around Asia. More info here: https://youtu.be/Hk6aTKV-des

dgrin91

Their reservation page says $30 off on a $40000 vehicle. That made me laugh

dgellow

Is that legit? That looks like vaporware scam to be honest Edit: the fact the official aptera website has a banner at the top with their stock ticker is very suspicious, I assume it was a spac that didn’t go well? Edit 2: actually, not a spac, direct listing as a public benefit corporation. They seem to have a very messy and complicated history with a lot of over promises and no delivery

newtonianrules

Any day now.

Zigurd

Aptera is one of those things where the idea is so attractive one is far too tempted to ignore poor execution. And the current set of people there might actually be competent. But even if they are the whole series of misadventures has put people off experimenting with lightweight EVs. I'm pleased that E bikes are taking off, but I'd love to see something like a fully faired series hybrid E bike.

corsendonk

The utopians will be very excited by this.

mikepavone

I fell in love with the Aptera back during the Automotive X Prize era. Back then batteries were expensive enough that a vehicle that got decent range by being ultra-efficient was rather attractive. I also loved the unconventional look. Much harder to justify in a world with normal car EVs with decent range at fairly normal car prices. There are a fair number of choices below their $40K target price. I still hope they succeed, but hard for me to imagine buying one

dvh

Wouldn't it be easier to add solar panels to a boxy kei car?

NishanStepak

Maybe for local transport. Looks perfect for golf courses, industrial sites, parks, malls with a need for a car to move around in a confined space. The kind of thing where you need to manage a site.