Assessing the Aptera

An old friend sent me this piece on the Aptera, an EV “new” to the market and powered by the sun, asking for my comments.

A couple of things:

It’s “powered by the sun” as long as you leave it out in the sun for a few days and then drive it back and forth to the grocery store (if it’s not uphill). This is an exaggeration, but only slightly.  The claims that this car will travel 1000 miles on a charge and that it “never needs charging” are both preposterous.

When I entered the EV “scene” as a journalist in 2008, this car was in the exact same stage of development.  Where did all that investment capital go?  Elon Musk took exactly half that amount of time (six years) to put rockets into space.

Given this pathetic track-record, would anyone believe these people are going to still be around when it comes time to make good on a warranty?

Of very little importance is my opinion of the design–but here it is anyway:  I would bet that any real market research, e.g., asking 100 prospective EV owners if they want one (and why/why not), would reveal that most people think the car looks silly, and that they would ascribe that characteristic to anyone who would drive one.