Aptera Motors has shared another exciting progress update video, giving us our best look yet at its production-intent solar EV out in the real world. The SEV startup recently completed the PI build’s first-ever road trip, traveling over 300 miles using an all-electric battery and free energy from the Sun.
I got taken in by their promo 5 years ago, wanted it so much to be real, but the “factory” as of one year ago doesn’t have any actual machines despite raising millions of dollars. The influencers literally just do the factory tour which is like 5 places where there are presentations, and follow the yellow markings where the “factory machines” will be. But its all made up. They can literally fold up shop in a day or two and be gone. Pretty long standing grift though, you have to give them that. The influencers all who are incentivized are the only thing keeping it going.
“Millions” is cheap in car making. It buys you just enough design for manufacturability to make it good enough and cheap enough for people to buy.
Less design -> worse result while more expensive to produce. Example: Podbike (I like it, but the price)