Aptera’s EV dolphin car: hyper efficient and spotty cheap

Aptera

Aptera has one goal in mind: to develop the most efficient car in the world. According to the American brand, this car is the best solution to help people switch to electric mobility. Production should start as early as the end of 2023. Once Aptera reaches its fundraising goals, the company can outline a more precise timeline.

Production location in Carlsbad

“Aptera is completing the fourth and final phase of product development. As part of this phase, Aptera will complete crash testing and validation. Once completed, Aptera plans to quickly scale up to an annual output of 10,000 vehicles per year. Thereafter, Aptera hopes to slowly expand its production to 20,000 vehicles annually at its Carlsbad, California plant,” said Chris Anthony, Co-Founder and Co-CEO.

Preparations

Aptera’s 75,000-square-foot production facility in Carlsbad is set up to assemble a vehicle every 12 minutes, with an annual capacity of 10,000 vehicles. According to the brand, 92 percent of the Aptera’s suppliers have already been chosen and 98 percent of the factory equipment has already been selected. To get to the production stage faster, the company created the Aptera Accelerator program.

Aptera Accelerator Program

Through the Aptera Accelerator Program, the first 2,000 Launch Edition vehicles produced will be prioritized for early deliveries to investors. From now until March 26, 2023, anyone who invests $10,000 or more will be added to this list.

Lots of money needed

Chris Anthony: “If we can raise $20 million to $50 million to implement the first phase of our production plan, that will help tremendously. We expect our spending of the proceeds to include capital expenses such as equipment and tools and assistance in meeting the requirements for obtaining the grant.”

Show me the money!

So in this case, too, the company relies heavily on third-party money and government subsidies, a bit like Lightyear. But it was also a big deal for Lightyear, with disastrous consequences. Still, Aptera’s cards do seem to be in order, given the size of its order book and target pricing. Moreover, the vehicle development is already almost complete, only a financial “go” is needed for production.

Price Aptera

The price of the Aptera Launch Edition starts at 25,900 euros. Yep, that’s particularly sharp for an EV! The price depends greatly on the battery chosen. There is a choice of 250 miles ($25,900), 400 miles ($29,800), 600 miles ($34,600) and even 1,000 miles ($44,900). Converted, this is 400, 643, 965 and even 1,609 kilometers of driving range, respectively. The vehicle is extremely light (65 percent lighter compared to a normal EV), has ultra-slim tires and is almost the perfect shape for a car. Air resistance is extremely low.

Options Aptera

There is a choice of gray, white or black. A personalized color will cost you an additional 1,500 euros. In addition, there are several more options available that greatly affect the purchase price, such as additional solar panels and four-wheel drive. But in this case it’s all about the starting price, because even the base model with 400 kilometers of range already sounds promising. Fast charging can be done at speeds of 40 to 60 kW. A 100 kW version is being worked on. The 0-100 km/h sprint takes about 4 seconds and the top speed is 165 km/h.

Solar Panels

In a location with very high sun exposure, such as Southern California, the average American driver would never need to charge, based on the daily average driving distance of about 47 kilometers. In a location with average sun exposure, such as New York or Chicago, you only need to plug in three times a year, according to Aptera. This is pure theory, of course, but impressive it is.