“Engineers have showcased a prototype electric vehicle that can drive for up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) per day using just solar power,” reports LiveScience. The production-ready “Aptera Launch Edition” made its first appearance this month at CES 2025, and “also offers up to 400 miles (640 km) of range from a single charge via an electrical output, company representatives said in a statement.”
LiveScience describes the vehicle as “lighter and more energy-efficient than conventional EVs, while offering a 50% reduction in aerodynamic resistance,” with an energy efficiency rating of 100 Watt-hours per mile (Wh/mile).
By contrast, a Tesla Model S (released in 2022) consumes 194 Wh/mile in the city in mild weather and 288 Wh/mile on the highway in mild weather, according to the EV Database. At a maximum range of 440 miles — including 40 miles using solar power and 400 miles using electricity — the Aptera EV may also overtake the current longest-range vehicles in production. The Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ has a maximum range of 425 miles (684 km), according to the EV Database, followed by the Lucid Air Grand Touring at 410 miles (660 km).
Aptera says it’s raised $135 million “through equity crowdfunding” to fund its pre-production progress. “Since its launch, the Company has accepted $1.7 billion in pre-orders with nearly 50,000 vehicles reserved by future Aptera owners in the U.S. and internationally.”
MotorTrend writes that “nearly two decades in the making, the otherworldly three-wheel Aptera is headed to production this year as a $40,000, 400-mile EV that can capture up to 40 miles worth of free solar energy every day. Maybe.”
The California startup made similar promises in 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2022 and yet it has never delivered a single vehicle. Is anything different this time…?
At CES, co-CEO (and one of Aptera’s original founders) Chris Anthony told MotorTrend it will take another $60 million to finish the development work, buy the tooling, and build out the Carlsbad, California, assembly plant. “We’re still in fundraising mode and we hope that we inspire some people in this beautiful building (Las Vegas Convention Center) to invest in Aptera,” Anthony said. “We’re trying to raise $20 million in the first quarter of this year. That will basically kick off all the long-lead items to get into production, but it’s a $60 million plan to get into volume production.” Anthony said the company has already made one of its largest purchases, the molds for the carbon-fiber sheet-molding composite body structure and the fiberglass sheet-molding composite body panels that will be made in Italy. The next $20 million will cover the tooling for the diecast metal suspension arms and the injection-molded interior components…
It would be relatively easy for Aptera to hand build cars in a garage and announce the start of production, but the plan calls for building up to 80 cars per day per the guidance of engineering consultant and YouTuber Sandy Munro, who is an Aptera investor and adviser. “He really helped shepherd the design from what was an early prototype prove-out design into how to make the most manufacturable vehicle ever,” Anthony said. The structure is built from just six parts and the entire car has been designed to be put together in a factory with just 12 stations. But that radical simplicity complicates the job at hand right now. In addition to developing the car, the small engineering team also has to create the machine that makes it. Anthony’s plan has the factory ramping up to build 20,000 vehicles a year within nine months of starting production at the end of 2025.
Before that can happen, Aptera needs to clear the same hurdle that tripped it up in 2011 and sent the company stumbling into liquidation — the money. “We would love one investor to be so inspired by what we’re doing that they just hand us a $60 million check,” Anthony told MotorTrend. “But it could be something that’s kind of piecemeal over the next nine months to get that $60 million into the company.” Are you convinced?