Create the most efficient transportation on the planet.
We want to inspire people to do more than just drive their cars: We believe safe, fun-to-drive solar vehicles are at the heart of managing the Earth’s natural resources for future generations.
Aptera’s beginning
The founders of Aptera, Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro, helped to create the electric vehicle market in 2006 with an idea unlike any other. It was the first to achieve 300 mpg and it got a lot of attention, landing on the cover of dozens of magazines and even appearing in the movie Star Trek. However, funding didn’t exist for EV programs like it does today and Aptera faced challenges. Even with the support of thousands of fans around the globe, the team realized the time was not right for Aptera to fulfill its mission of creating a healthier world and a better way to travel.
Flash forward: A decade of evolution
So, Chris and Steve went off to start other businesses, innovating in emerging industries such as lithium battery technology and vertical farm production. While the dream of Aptera was quiet, it was not forgotten. Flash forward a decade. EV technology is more advanced, the supply chain is more established, consumer demand is even greater. After Chris sold his company, the two founders met again to talk about how things had evolved. They were surprised that, with all the new EV brands on the market, there was still no company focused solely on efficiency. In fact, the current trend is toward larger and heavier vehicles requiring even more materials, batteries and energy.
Aptera reborn
Recognizing an opportunity, in 2019 our founders relaunched Aptera as a solar electric vehicle (sEV) brand. Our goal is to build lightweight and aerodynamic vehicles powered by the sun that are able to handle most daily driving needs completely off the grid. We launched in late 2019 and have 40,000+ reservations from customers in 100+ countries. We plan to begin production in 2024.
Meet the Aptera Team.
Thinkers. Innovators. Industry-leaders.
Steve Fambro
Co-CEOSteve Fambro
Co-CEO Bio:Venture partner and COO of Ocean Holding, an investment and development company dedicated to advancing the use of clean, renewable energy. Founder of Famgro; raised $8m to launch a superefficient pesticide/ herbicide-free indoor food-production system.
Chris Anthony
Co-CEOChris Anthony
Co-CEO Bio:Founder and former CEO of Flux Power, an advanced lithium-battery technology company that launched its first products in 12 months and has reduced carbon emissions in industrial spaces by over 1,000 tons of C02 per year. Has raised more than $100m in private equity, DPO, and grant funding for technology ventures. Chris holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of North Carolina.
Michael Johnson
Co-FounderMichael Johnson
Co-Founder Bio:Venture co-founder, owner, and president/CEO of Esenjay Petroleum, an upstream O&G exploration company based in Corpus Christi, Tex. Co-founder, major shareholder, and director of Flux Power, a lithium-power provider.
Sarah Hardwick
CMOSarah Hardwick
CMO Bio:Founder of award-winning agency Zenzi. History of success collaborating with high-profile brands including Nestle, Chiquita, Crystal Geyser, AOL/Mapquest, Churchill Downs, DirecTV, and many more. Savvy digital marketer, passionate community builder, driver of revenue and growth.
Jason Hill
Chief of DesignJason Hill
Chief of Design Bio:Founder and president of Eleven LLC, a design studio whose clients include Subaru, IAT, WM China Motors, and SUNRY Automotive. First designer at Porsche’s American design studio; designed exterior of Porsche Carrera GT show car (basis for production version).
Akos Feher
VP of EngineeringAkos Feher
VP of Engineering Bio:Akos Feher leads the Mechanical Engineering side of Aptera’s vehicle development team. Prior to joining Aptera, he helped numerous startups scale up, both in the US, and internationally. Previously, as VP of Operations he developed and lead Shelby American’s manufacturing operations in Las Vegas, NV, twice. Prior to building Shelby Mustangs, Akos lead the Hot Wheels Racing brand at Mattel. Akos holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UC San Diego, and an MBA from USC.
Nathan Armstrong
CTONathan Armstrong
CTO Bio:Founder of Motive Industries, an automotive and industrial-design firm VP of Engineering at Metalcrafters, Aria Group, Draganfly and Havelaar Canada Boeing CAD design engineer on the International Space Station.
Jim Chyou
CEO of Asia Pacific OperationsJim Chyou
CEO of Asia Pacific Operations Bio:With 30+ years of industry experience, Jim Chyou focuses on building strategic alliances in the Asia Pacific region to advance Aptera's efforts to create the most efficient solar transportation on the planet. Most recently, Chyou served as Vice President of Product Development at Chery Jaguar Land Rover in Shanghai, China. He founded the Automotive Perceptual Quality Concept (PQ), trained teams, and conducted over 50 seminars.
Saleh Abdullah Mutabbakani
Principal Advisor for Saudi ArabiaSaleh Abdullah Mutabbakani
Principal Advisor for Saudi Arabia Bio:With four decades of strategic consulting experience in technology and transportation, Saleh Mutabbakani focuses on building strategic alliances in Saudi Arabia to accelerate Aptera's goals of creating the most efficient solar electric vehicle on the planet. Most recently, Mutabbakani acted as Public Affairs Advisor to Saudi Arabia's high-net-worth individuals. Beyond his broad business experience, Mutabbakani is also an entrepreneur and author of "Saudi Arabia, Modern Economy Traditional Socety," the first bilingual exports magazine, "SEARCH," and more.
Blake Ryan
VP of FinanceBlake Ryan
VP of Finance Bio:Blake has over 16 years of experience in accounting and finance. He is responsible for monitoring the company’s financial health by maintaining, managing and analyzing financial statements, payroll, budgets, tax compliance issues, and more. Blake holds a BS in Business from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Quincy Hilla
Senior Marketing Communications ManagerQuincy Hilla
Senior Marketing Communications Manager Bio:Quincy Hilla is a digital marketer and brand builder. Honing in on her skills as a self-starter and efficient problem solver, she has spent the last few years helping San Diego start-up companies execute their creative visions and marketing strategy. Quincy holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing from San Diego State University.
Chris McCammon
Content ManagerChris McCammon
Content Manager Bio:Chris McCammon shares emerging technologies with the world. He has helped build innovative brands for a number of start-up companies and is ready to bring his unique content creation skills to Aptera. Chris holds a Bachelor's degree in Game Production Management from Champlain College.
Shrikant Chopade
Senior Manager, EngineeringShrikant Chopade
Senior Manager, Engineering Bio:Shrikant Chopade is a mechanical engineer having extensive experience in automotive body, closures, mechanism design and development for the complete life cycle of the product. Worked with OEMs like Toyota, Honda, Navistar in USA and Renault-Nissan, Tata, Mahindra abroad in all automotive segments. Always willing to explore new technologies and cost-effective lightweight solutions.
Shashidhar Chakalabbi
Engineering Manager, InteriorsShashidhar Chakalabbi
Engineering Manager, Interiors Bio:A passionate mechanical engineer well-versed with automotive interior and exterior body design and development. Hands on experience in new product development, reverse engineering, product integration, benchmarking, and cost reduction.
Audra Leslie
Customer Success ManagerAudra Leslie
Customer Success Manager Bio:Audra Leslie spent the past couple of years supporting customers across the U.S. at a start-up company based out of San Diego. With a vision and passion for a green, energy-efficient future, she is thrilled to be a champion for Aptera as the Customer Success Manager. Audra holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego, and enjoys traveling, running, and meeting new people from every walk of life.
Karl Schaffer
Lead Powertrain EngineerKarl Schaffer
Lead Powertrain Engineer Bio:Karl Schaffner worked as Master Certified Automotive Technician before completing a BSME with a Mechatronics Concentration at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2002 where he led the Formula SAE Powertrain Team. After college he worked for aerospace and other companies in the San Diego area as a design and test engineer where he performed structural, thermal, electronics, and power system design for space (NASA LRO and MSL Curiosity Rover) and UAV systems. As a contract engineer, Karl amassed a diverse experience designing, building and testing electro-mechanical systems.
Nick Rocco
Vehicle Program ManagerNick Rocco
Vehicle Program Manager Bio:An Electro-Mechanical Engineer with 20 years of Technical Management experience in Aerospace, Commercial and Medical industries. Responsible for full lifecycle development of highly engineered systems from prototype through to production.
Charlie Bulkeley
Senior Staff Firmware EngineerCharlie Bulkeley
Senior Staff Firmware Engineer Bio:An electrical and software engineer with over three decades of experience in product development, including a stint developing EV body controllers for Aptera back in 2010.
Keva Chin
Mechanical EngineerKeva Chin
Mechanical Engineer Bio:Keva Chin is a Mechanical Engineer with years of experience in design and manufacturing at the UC San Diego Machine Shop. He is passionate about bringing designs from concept to reality and specializes in CNC Machining, 3D Printing, Welding, and manual fabrication. He has always been fascinated by high performance vehicles, and is intent on contributing to the innovative automotive industry through Aptera.
Jake Wible
Lead Digital ProducerJake Wible
Lead Digital Producer Bio:Jake Wible has a unique range of skills in the field of digital production, ranging from Product Design to Game Design and Virtual Reality. He owns and operates the board game manufacturing company Tektite Games, and is the author of Tactical Tech, a sci-fi-themed strategy game. He came from a background of business and entrepreneurship with a passion for everything sci-fi, futuristic, and energy efficient. He also has eight years of management experience at an eCommerce business and has developed a full range of goods and services.
Jamie Klopp
Director of DesignJamie Klopp
Director of Design Bio:With an extensive 20-year career in Automotive, Aircraft, and Product Design, Jamie Klopp is Aptera's Director of Design.
Chris Blust
Firmware EngineerChris Blust
Firmware Engineer Bio:Chris Blust is a Firmware Engineer. He is currently developing firmware for controlling solar charging in Aptera. He is from Syracuse, New York, and is excited to be part of Aptera's effort to reimagine electric vehicles.
Jordan Andia
Manufacturing EngineerJordan Andia
Manufacturing Engineer Bio:Jordan Andia is a manufacturing engineer for the battery production assembly line. He is responsible for the selection, quotation, procurement, and installation of capital equipment for Aptera battery production. Previously, Jordan was a process engineer at Raytheon Technologies in Santa Fe Springs, CA, a participant in the SAE Aero competition as a mechatronics engineer at California State Fullerton, and a manufacturing engineer (missile launchers) at Marvin Engineering Company in Inglewood, CA.
Nicholas Moglia
Chassis EngineerNicholas Moglia
Chassis Engineer Bio:Nicholas Moglia is a mechanical engineer with experience in accelerated life testing and rapid prototyping. He has always been passionate about vehicles and is determined to see through Aptera's efficiency first ethos manifested in a vehicle.
Marcelo Esposito
Engineer - Composite & Process Production ResearchMarcelo Esposito
Engineer - Composite & Process Production Research Bio:For the past 20 years Marcelo has been using my skills designing, prototyping and fabricating production cells as well as products, packaging, material flow, floor plan layouts, processes and operator training. Marcelo follows Lean Manufacturing and 5-S methodology as a baseline for every project.
Gustavo Gonzalez
Lead Battery EngineerGustavo Gonzalez
Lead Battery Engineer Bio:Gustavo is a graduate from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. He is the Lead Engineer for the Battery Team at Aptera.
Join us to create a more efficient future.
We are supported by hundreds of ambassadors who are passionate…
about EVs, solar power, battery technology, engineering, science, technology, communication and more. They lend their expertise and enthusiasm to help us spread the word about Aptera and further our mission of creating more efficient transportation.
From the Dutch perspective of innovation and mobility, I am very pleased to see Aptera approach solutions for a better world from the ground-up. Aptera’s starting point of efficiency says a lot about the thinking process of the people who are developing this first great mobility machine.
As an architect, I want to invest in innovation and therefore in Aptera, not only with enthusiasm and promotion, but also financially when there is a possibility.
As a physicist and a lifelong car enthusiast, I have always thought about what my ideal car would be. Then I saw Aptera and it ticked all the boxes. If one is to think scientifically and logically about the problem of transporting two people and their baggage as efficiently as possible while still enjoying comfort, safety and driving fun then the only solution is Aptera.
I love how the team optimizes every aspect of the vehicle, from the advanced composites of the beautifully designed body through the clever camping kit to the “Right to Repair” program. Everything is done the right way at Aptera.
Aptera is a revolutionary paradigm advance in personal transportation. Powered by the sun, Aptera is a creative solution to the tremendous environmental cost of current automobiles.
Designed and manufactured in San Diego, Aptera places the US at the forefront of safe, quick, and efficient transportation.
I have been an Aptera fan for over a decade. It’s really exciting that Steve and Chris have returned with an even better version of their revolutionary vehicle.
There truly is no other product like this on the market today!
In the coming years, Aptera will be seen as a pioneer in producing ultra-efficient vehicles.
While I am excited to own this unique Solar Electric Vehicle someday, I believe in Aptera’s mission statement and want to be a part of helping them to accomplish it.
Not to mention the team has always been kind, helpful, trusting, and all around amazing!
Explore our latest news.
Aptera Update: Validation & PI Builds
As you saw earlier this year, Aptera entered the Validation Phase for its aerodynamic shape at Pininfarina’s world-famous wind tunnel. But that’s not all we’re doing to validate our solar electric vehicle. Today, we’re excited to take you on a journey through a crucial phase in our mission to make solar mobility a reality —…