Ah yes, that car I read about in Popular Science in 2006. I'm sure their crowdfunding will be used to bring it into production this time.
this post was submitted on 18 May 2024
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It a fair criticism but I think they're much closer to production this time. I'm still skeptical they will make it to production, and even more skeptical that they will be successful in the market. However, I am rooting for them simply because I believe this design philosophy is the direction the automotive industry ought to be taking.
It makes no sense to build heavy, powerful, and expensive EVs in a time where we're looking down the barrel of climate change and terrible income inequality. Aptera seems to be one of the only companies that understands that. Certainly they deserve to be questioned given past failures but I do hope they succeed as their design is a step in the right direction
Oh yeah I do think the idea is really cool, and I agree with your sentiment about evs (especially within the usa, specifically). I just don't have an expectation that this company will deliver something that can match the expectations that they always seem to project.
Re specific small-ev projects, there is innovation happening, just not in the states. For example, I think the way they do electric motorbikes in some asian cities right now is very interesting (ie Gogoro is pretty popular in Taipei, and Honda is experimenting with a similar style in Japan) . Essentially, you have stations that have large walls of batteries, and you just take your bike, swap batteries out for charged ones, and you're on your way. It's a cool idea that makes electric bikes just straight more convenient than motor ones.
I think it's just way easier to justify innovation in small evs when the top-selling vehicle in your country is not the F-150.
That is such a cool idea!
Their story is interesting, but also depressing. They were competing for government EV subsidies at the time and then the rules changed at the 11th hour, and they were excluded because their vehicles had 3 wheels instead of 4. Meanwhile, Tesla did get the funding.
Aptera was forced to sell everything to a Chinese firm, who never did anything with it. Then, a few years ago, Aptera’s original founders found the money to buy it all back and drafted a new roadmap to market.
It’s been touch-and-go this time around, too, but their technology and basic principles are just brilliant. The sheer practicality of what they are making is unmatched by anyone anywhere. I’m excited to see this finally come to market!
Huh I didnt know this story. Thanks for sharing!
Same story as Elio motors. Even their last $8,000, 80+mpg car was "coming soon" for so long that it was scrapped for a more expensive EV model that is also "coming soon".
Rooting for them but I will not hold by breath.
I can't believe they are still around and still haven't shipped a product!
It's more like they are around again, they folded quite a while ago then started back up in 2019 I think. Still a fairly long development, but not 15 years, haha.
A big red flag. A consumer buy now timer? A huge influencer campaign across youtube, and its non voting stock. In over 15 years the only thing the company has produced with over 100 million is 4 prototypes. The "factory", if you can call it that is nothing more than a series of presentation stations with some tape showing where the "assembly lines" will be in the future. I was initially interested and followed them on Youtube for 3 years, but its always, "yeah we're working on this and that" but I see no real progress. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a feeling this version of Aptera will end badly as the last one did. In case you didn't know, both Google and Idealab invested in the first one over 15 years ago and wrote off their investment as a loss, and no major corporate backers since. US Capital is just a fundraising LLC. There is no mention of the size of the investment or the deal, so this looks to me like a cash grab to get the influencers paid. But hey, I'm just another dude on the internet. Maybe I'm wrong and its the new best thing since the Cybertruck.
I think the timer is a little pushy, but giving a warning before closing open investment isn't a bad thing. If they reopen crowdfunding after closing it now, I will share your suspicions.
Do you want your wheel assembly to be unprotected and jutting or where some jackass in a F350 can trash it? Because that's what this stupid looking thing has.
If you are in a small car and an F350 hits you, it is going to do a lot of damage whether it is this or a more conventional car. At least with this you may limit the body and frame damage to that wheel and suspension. If it just tears off that wheel it will pobably transfer less impact to the passenger compartment too, and I care more about my neck than a wheel or quarter panel.