It is a strange looking vehicle, but there are a lot of things I like about the company’s philosophy and approach.

  • Cosmo
    link
    1829 days ago

    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.

    • Glifted
      link
      2029 days ago

      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

      • Cosmo
        link
        10
        edit-2
        29 days ago

        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.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          -528 days ago

          I think the way they do electric motorbikes in some asian cities right now is very interesting

          Interesting? Sure. What happens when it rains? What happens on 107*F days? You just show up to work sopping wet? They don’t worry about their scooter being stolen?

          Put 25MPH speed limits in the city and use micro-cars. Seems like the better option.

          • Cosmo
            link
            128 days ago

            The innovation is the focus on battery-swapping, not in the use of motorbikes… In fact, Honda is developing non-motorbike vehicles with the same concept. That being said, different vehicles work better in different environments. Motorbikes work extremely well in the very compact cities in Asia. They are cheaper to manufacture, and save space / improve traffic when more people use them. Your methodology of nitpicking all of comments that don’t mesh with your extremely narrow vision of an optimal future is a GREAT way to advocate and make people want to conform to your ideas.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              028 days ago

              Your methodology of nitpicking all of comments that don’t mesh with your extremely narrow vision of an optimal future is a GREAT way to advocate and make people want to conform to your ideas.

              Your methodology of making shit up that never happened is a GREAT way to win an argument.

    • Veraxus
      link
      16
      edit-2
      29 days ago

      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!

      • Cosmo
        link
        729 days ago

        Huh I didnt know this story. Thanks for sharing!

    • @RockaiE
      link
      429 days ago

      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”.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      329 days ago

      You missed the title. They already got crowdfunding. They’re closing crowdfunding because they secured the remainder of the necessary investment from another source. Enough to begin production.

      • Cosmo
        link
        5
        edit-2
        29 days ago

        I’m not saying they don’t have funding. I’m saying that even with the funding secured, I don’t believe them until they actually produce cars that can be in the hands of customers. Forgive me for being skeptical when I see them occasionally pop up with more hype every so often for TWENTY YEARS.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          129 days ago

          It’s not “every so often”, nor was it “for twenty years”. It’s twice, and the after first time they shut down entirely for 10 years or so.

          • Cosmo
            link
            229 days ago

            Wake me up when they ship something

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              128 days ago

              It’s okay to be skeptical without choosing to mislead people about what’s actually happening. I’m skeptical too. They advertised everywhere that they would ship their first car at the end of 2022. And then just…never mentioned it again. And now they’re supposed to launch in 2025.