I think Aptera's vision is fantastic. People are quick to judge the looks or three-wheelness of the car, but I think that's just a symptom of cars being marketed as status symbols nowadays.
I am worried about production. With all of the years it's taking them to get there, they can run out of money at any time it seems. It's unknown if they can raise enough money on their terms to get this thing to production.
I love these things. Sadly, it’s like an Elven artifact: a beautiful elegant thing, built for people who just aren’t quite like us. Us (the mass market, 99% of car buyers) are orcs. We look at a thing like this and can’t see the beauty or utility of being efficient and having a light footprint.
I have always adored Aptera, but BYD and Tesla will always eat their lunch. I've been out to the factory in San Diego and driven Luna. It was awesome, but sadly I just don't think it will get funding. The government REALLY screwed them over, not once, but twice with the vehicle loan program. Really wonderful people and an amazing car.
> Even on an overcast day, the team saw over 545 watts of solar input
Let’s (generously) assume that was the minimum they saw, and let’s (generously) say they charged for 14 hours. That’s 7.63 kWh gained over the day, in almost ideal conditions. Flagstaff’s high altitude means stronger sunlight, and they can do regenerative braking as they come down the mountain. In my Nissan leaf, 6 kWh would get me about 20 miles. If they are much more efficient, they maybe got 50 miles from the charging on that day, and the other 250 from the charge they started with.
I’d love to be wrong about any of the above! Solar panels on cars would be so cool! It just doesn’t seem useful. Please correct me if I’m mistaken.
For roadtrips, you're absolutely right.
The average car travels less than 50 miles on the average day though (more like 30 I believe). This means you don't have to charge except on roadtrips (provided you can park outside in the sun, and don't drive more than average. The battery can provide some smoothing out of day-to-day variability though).
Whether not having to plug in at home is particularly useful... hard to know if it's something consumers want.
50 miles of free driving a day sounds incredible, but you're implying that's a bad thing? I'm confused.
I don't really get what Aptera are aiming for, but solar panels on electric vehicles are a good call in niches already (refrigerated trucks being a low hanging fruit, golf carts) and only set to grow from there.
300-545 watts. Aptera gets 8 miles/KWh (to compare - my Prius and other EV cars get about 3+ miles/KWh). So they get 2.5-4.5 miles from an hour under the Sun. So 20-40 miles during the time of commute and while parked at work.
So, yes, that Trump's idea he expressed in the interview to Musk back then to plaster cars with solar panels isn't totally meaningless, at least in theory - you can have 2-3x solar panels on regular car compare to Aptera, so it would have made sense for daily commute if that plastering of the cars cost close to nothing, and unfortunately putting such thing in production would add thousands to the car cost, and given that even Musk/Tesla with their pile of cash available to dump into engineering of such a new feature haven't yet ventured into it it suggests that at least near future isn't bright for it.
Yeah, 545 watts on an Arizona afternoon in that ugly spaceship-ass lookin thing is exactly what I picture when someone says "solar car". It'll extend your range by a tiny bit and look like shit in the process. I bet 545W doesn't even sustain it at highway speeds, let alone acceleration and deceleration that would be needed on a busy road etc (gee I wonder why they took "the road not travelled").
It's just not a good idea. Sure, put a panel on the roof of a car to power the accessories system and get a little bit back in your range, but if you go into it thinking you can drive a *real* car on the solar power that strikes the surface of the vehicle you're just gonna make yourself look silly.
I think the car looks excellent for what it is. It’s not like there’s a lot of choice in stunning micro EVs. My friend drove a Buddy for a few years. Really neat car, but that’s definitely one that nobody would call beautiful. I’ve seen many people who thinks the Aptera looks great. It has some very good design qualities (sleek and elegant IMO), even if I can see why others wouldn’t like it.
Like others have said, you’re objectively wrong about the solar panels. If you live in a sunny area, if you don’t have off-street parking, and you just need something to commute to work and do errands, the Aptera is technically an excellent choice. You would rarely have to visit a charging station. There’s no denying that the Aptera js efficient enough that the roof solar actually has a meaningful impact for people with median daily use.
The solar panels aren’t meant to make a huge impact on long road trips. So your criticism just doesn’t make any sense. I can kinda understand the confusion considering we’re commenting on this story in particular. But this test is more about demonstrating what the excellent aerodynamics brings to the table. So maybe read a bit more into the intention of the design choices before critiquing it?
These guys are based here in San Diego county. I've been watching them for years.
It's good to see some new news, and I think the road trip and report are an interesting update.
But I do think they could have avoided criticism like what we're replying to above, if they had stated clearly how much of the 300 mile day was powered by the photovoltaic, and how much relied on plug-in charging.
I'm not critical at all, and I still want to know those details 8-/
Solar powered daily errands and even a modest commute are totally viable here in the southwest. I work from home, and plug my Nissan Leaf in about twice a week. So that's about 300 miles per week. I could almost certainly do my driving in the aptera without plugging in at all.
The look is strictly "form follows function", it's not intended to be a fashion statement, it's intended to be maximally efficient.
Clearly trying to attract Kunk Daddy and the thug crowd away from giant blacked-out escalades with gold wheels, isn't the demographic addressed by this vehicle.
You and I start from the same base information: the power from the solar in real-time isn't enough to drive a "real car", immediately. But we come to totally different conclusions.
The solar hitting the roof of this thing over the course of a day is enough to make my average commute in that thing. That's what batteries are for. I'm not driving from sun-up to sun-down. (And you can plug it in anytime you want.)
Yes there are some huge trade-offs to make it work: It's not a 3-row minivan, it's not a 4-door sedan, it's a bizzare-looking car-like thing that moves only two people, but does so in the comfort that I desire for my daily use. And the solar part is only going to work out in a sunny place, if you park it in the sun. That happens to be exactly what I'm looking for.
Even if it didn't have solar, it's a ridiculously efficient EV, which I'd prefer over a ridiculously fast car or very large SUV.
I would understand "That seems like a small market" or "that's too many trade-offs for me", but "It's just not a good idea" seems like harsh judgement for a vehicle because it doesn't appeal to your visual preferences or usage.
Agreed, I'd make the same argument as parent for a Harley. It's not my cup of tea, loud, impractical, and a gas guzzler, but it clearly appeals to a bunch of people. Give things a chance for goodness sake. Aptera never claimed you don't need to charge.
If you're traveling 300 miles, cargo capacity is pretty important. I feel like this is sacrificing a great deal of what people actually need for a "feature" that is a bit of a solution in search of a problem.