Aptera Extends Its Accelerator Program, Needs More Money To Start Production

The Californian solar EV startup received a $21 million grant, but it’s not enough.

2024 Aptera Launch Edition solar EV

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Mar 16, 2023 at 4:29am ET

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Aptera, the American company that wants to mass produce a solar electric vehicle (SEV), announced it has removed the deadline on its Accelerator program that allows investors to secure one of the first 2,000 vehicles made if they put down at least $10,000.

Aptera’s Accelerator program was announced in late January and the solar EV startup initially scheduled an end for the crowdfunding campaign for March 26, 2023, but now it has removed the cut-off date completely. However, the slot number remains unchanged at 2,000, so when all of them are spoken for, the program will end.

With this being said, though, just 606 delivery slots have been filled as of today, which means Aptera still has over 1,300 positions available and by the looks of it, needs the money from this crowdfunding campaign to start production.

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Back in January, the SEV firm said it needed an additional $50 million to start assembly on the three-wheeler covered with photovoltaic panels. Recently, it received a $21 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC), but the grant itself is a reimbursement program, so Aptera needs to first spend money out of its own pockets on qualified purchases like production equipment, which will then be paid back by the grant.

So, after some quick calculations, if the Californian start-up convinces 1,394 people to invest at least $10,000 through its Accelerator program, it would get at least $13.94 million. Add that to the $8.73 million already accumulated from the first 606 Accelerator investors and Aptera would have $22.67 million in its bank account, just enough to cover the CEC grant.

The way the company’s crowdfunding works is pretty simple: the more money you invest, the higher up you are on the waitlist for the first 2,000 units of the solar vehicle. According to the official leaderboard, one person has invested over $1 million and is the first in line to get his three-wheeled EV when production starts.

Gallery: 2024 Aptera Launch Edition

2024 Aptera Launch Edition

Besides getting one of the first 2,000 cars ever made, those who participate in the Accelerator program will get a serialized book that is numbered to match their vehicle and signed by Aptera’s co-founders, as well as serialized markings on the driver’s side B-pillar and rear hatch opening area of the solar EV.

The Launch Edition of the Aptera SEV features a 400-mile (643-kilometer) range battery pack, as well as an integrated 700-watt solar package that offers up to 40 miles (64 km) of solar charge per day if the user is based somewhere with very high sun exposure like Southern California and drives a daily average of 29 miles (46 km).

The Aptera Launch Edition features an all-wheel drive system that outputs a combined 128 kilowatts of power, enabling a 0-60 miles per hour (0-96 kilometers per hour) sprint in a brisk 4 seconds and a top speed of 101 mph (162 km/h).

Charging the Aptera can be done via AC at a rate of 13 miles (21 km) per hour when plugged into a 120V outlet, while a 240V outlet results in the charging speed going up to 57 miles (91 km) per hour. DC fast charging is also available, with the solar EV accepting between 40-60 kW via Tesla’s charge port (NACS). Additionally, the company says that further down the line, after more testing is done, DC fast charging speeds will increase to 100 kW. And now that the Supercharger network is opening up to other brands, it means Aptera owners will be able to effortlessly top-up at Tesla stalls.

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The Aptera Launch Edition has an MSRP of $33,200, with a reservation fee of $100, so if you don’t want to invest tens of thousands of dollars in the company, you can still reserve a solar EV – you just won’t be at the front of the line once production starts after funding is secured.

According to the company, it has over 40,000 reservations and is planning to build at least 5,000 Launch Edition vehicles, with the subsequent aim of producing at least 10,000 vehicles per year.