Aptera Corp funding status

[Pistonboy]

This is the latest video from Aptera Owners Club. He says Aptera Motors need $50 Million dollars to go into production. If they make the production intent vehicle by December 31, but do not get the $50 Million for production, does that mean Dec 1 is the end of Aptera?

I hope tech savvy and manufacturing savvy people will comment.

https://youtu.be/MHIp0Gezpkkhttps://youtu.be/MHIp0Gezpkk

[mark-salyzyn]

A more pragmatic viewpoint.

As purchasers, or rather reservation holders, of a promised deliverable from a company, there is no reason or urge to invest in the company if you do not have the expendable cash and the fiscal (or emotional) reasoning. In other words, it is not our problem.

If Aptera Motors fails to convince future or current $$ investors that they can viably deliver a product on time, as promised, and can in turn deliver on the promise of future profits worthy of their investment, that is on their heads. And if it fails, then in some measure it was destined not to happen. This is a hard and cold fact.

I could invest $2M at the accredited rate, but I am not convinced that I will see profit exceeding my current investments. So I chose to be a reservation holder, I chose to pray and hope for their success, and I hope that some angel out there believes stronger than I that they want to put their money where their mouth is. I feel privaleged my tiny refundable deposit allows me to be a small part of the SEV dream I have had since 1967. I have been provided hope for humanities future for such a cheap price, and been delivered unmatched entertainment.

On FB Aptera Motors only exudes excitement for the forthcoming deliveries. They show no signs of blinking, this vehicle will happen. I chose this positive view of the future, and hope you all will have smiles on your faces in no time at all.

Nothing, NOTHING, will generate more excitement than the first production SEV on the planet wheeling off the assembly line. That is my dream.

[Qiang]

I think Aptera can leverage its subscription base to make the production happen, even if equity infusion is not sufficient. It’s just a matter of finding a scheme that protects the financial interests of the parties involved. In one of Steve’s earlier video, I posted a comment and suggested a scheme where we/buyers buy and own the parts via Apetra, and contract the Apetra to assemble. I copied my comments below for your entertainment.😀 I bet there can be other arrangements that make financial sense for both parties, get the car built, and help the company to accumulate working capital.

“one suggestion I have for Aptera is to use the business model of a contract manufacturer, where the customers contract the company to build the Aptera by paying for parts and materials upfront. My understanding is that Aptera’s manufacturing process is more an assembly of the parts sourced from vendors, which means most of the production costs consist of the parts it purchases instead of the high cost of setting up the factory and assembly lines like Tesla. This unique “manufacturing” process makes this arrangement possible.

For example, 1000 customers can collectively contract Aptera for a batch to be built in certain month, and each customer will put $25k or whatever cost of the materials in an escrow account, where the company draws from to buy the parts and materials on customers’ behalf. After the car is assembled, the customer will pay remaining $x to take delivery. Should the company fail, the ownership of the parts and materials sourced with funds from escrow remain with the customer and customer will have to DIY or find a local bodyshop to put the car together, which is possible given the nature of the Apetra’s production process. After the first batch of 1000 cars are built and delivered, a second 1000 batch is open up for customer to sign up, and so on… The risk to Aptera is low since the sale is certain before the production process and most of the costs are paid for upfront. The risk to the customer is also limited with a careful setup of the escrow agreement. I will be the first to sign up should Aptera goes that route. This arrangement should at least get Aptera’s production going if it can’t secure additional funding or additional funding comes at an unreasonably high cost. Assuming 20% net profit margin and 10k volume, Aptera can potentially build up roughly $60m capital via this process in the first year and can gradually change back to more traditional business model once it has a solid financial footing.”

[curtis-cibinel]

It is possible government loans or another big investor could come along but getting to scale is complicated and expensive. Hopefully Gamma will be 95+% production ready and generate buzz that attracts big investors they need. If Aptera can secure solid funding and reach ~40 units per day then they can sell themselves effectively in an IPO and reproduce the pattern with similar micro factories. Rivian has a staff of over 5000 and barely makes 50 units per day with a valuation of 33 billion. Investor confidence in IPO for EV companies not shipping units is not what it was a few year ago.

Unless Aptera is well funded I wouldn’t be surprised to see a reduction in some of the existing non-senior engineers as they could sideline the 4 wheel sedan development to save money and focus on scaling production. Obviously ideally they keep all the good engineers they have, develop new products, hire production teams and secure new locations all simultaneously but to minimize cash burn it wouldn’t surprise me to see hard decisions made. I could also see major localization efforts (ie Right Hand Drive / European market) or features (AWD / options / battery sizes) also being sidelined if cash is tight; KISS principles. This is obviously speculation but I genuinely believe Chris/Steve and the management team are smart enough to be planning for possible contingencies now.

[seth]

There’s not much Aptera should need equipment wise besides the robot carts? I’ve seen companies manufacturing new products get basically pay on delivery loans from suppliers (get all of the parts, build the product, and repay suppliers when customers hand over cash) which I’m sure Aptera could work out with some of their better funded larger suppliers. I think worst case scenario is they don’t scale up as fast as we’d like, and it takes a year or more to get near 10k production goals without more investment/loans.

[curtis-cibinel]

This is a huge boon for the company. Obviously funding is relatively tight given the economy and this will help them get into production.

Looking at the document Aptera scored the 2nd highest based on the criteria. It would be interesting to know how they judged them as all the companies were scoring quite close together in the 70-77% range.

[Gershom]

Thanks Dan, that is wonderful news! A great confidence booster and making production much, much more likely now. Not only does this make me more confident that Aptera can really go into production, there is also the confidence booster that the CEC thinks Aptera is a serious company. I browsed around for a bit to find out when the money might actually be transferred and if there are additional hoops, but I have not found that. I did see (in the file you linked) that there is an additional 26 mil ‘match fund’, which, if I am understanding things correctly, is provided by Aptera.

This is together pretty close to the 50 mil mentioned recently as what is needed to make it to production. This match fund would have been an estimate from a few months ago, when this grant was opened up. I expect that the new stock offering that was also mentioned recently will probably open up with bells and whistles after the great reveal on Sept 10.

Curious if others have opinions about the other projects that got rewarded: electric school busses and forklift, for example. These are real projects, with real impacts, not pie in the sky stuff.

BTW: final approval of the grant is in a CEC business meeting. The next CEC business meeting is Sept 14: https://www.energy.ca.gov/proceedings/business-meetings. That should be rubber stamping, but there is this thing about counting chickens and hatching eggs.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Rob Spruijt.

[dan-stevens]

I gave the direct link to the award document previously, but failed to give the link to the grant page.
You can get a (totally not understandable) overview of the grant at:
https://www.energy.ca.gov/solicitations/2022-03/gfo-21-605-zero-emission-transportation-manufacturing

There are links to a lot of the grant info on this page, but if you follow them, you’ll quickly end up in areas not related to this grant.

The $60Million mentioned on this page was SIGNIFICANTLY increased, allowing for $184,672,200 of funds to be spent on the grant. Yes, that is government math in action.

[dan-stevens]

For those who have an hour to waste….. errr, I mean want to understand this better….

There is a video of the pre-application workshop that sort of walks through what this is for, how it can be used, talks about the ‘match’ and does a good job of answering none of your questions:

The recording and
presentation slides are available in the GFO-21-605 pre-application web page at
https://www.energy.ca.gov/event/funding-workshop/2022-04/pre-application-workshop-gfo-21-605-zero-emission-transportation.

For reference:
At 13:58, they talk about eligible project costs
At 14:39, they talk about match funding requirements

And if you just want to peruse the Q&A document, you can download it from:
https://www.energy.ca.gov/solicitations/2022-03/gfo-21-605-zero-emission-transportation-manufacturing

Scroll down near the bottom and find the Questions and Answers document. Once you read it, please explain it to me.

Also at the bottom is a link to the presentation I listed above.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Dan Stevens. Reason: added time references

[curtis-cibinel]

Figured I’d link Steve from Aptera Owner’s Clubs video on the topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cub87P7VZC0

[david-marlow]

While Fully Charged did make some waves, some were not as good as I had hoped, however the pre orders are still coming in at a good rate, I hope the number of investors will also. Aptera is also steadily making improvements, so the investments will pay off. My main reason for investing has been to help the environment, as Aptera is clearly needed. When the stock goes public we know it will have its ups and downs, but the trend will be up as more people realize the need for it.

[BigSky]

My thinking on this $50M requirement is that it is more important Aptera gets this design wrapped up and declared street legal for sale, than to worry about the top end of their capital requirements. I’ve been involved in numerous high capital decisions for market entry and Aptera doesn’t need to fully automate right away. It could be more expensive in the long run, but lower risk to semi automate in the beginning. A lower entry capital threshold may remove some funding risk. Risk to funding will go down if Aptera is actually selling cars because it becomes a predictable return with calculable cost savings payback at that point. The production ramp would likely be slower, but I don’t see startup risks in this scenario as they may already have the funds for a bare bones startup.

They are right to seek funding for their automated factory floor design, but I can easily imagine them developing a back up plan with much less funding which they may already have enough money for with the California grant they received.

The funding for that first car off the lot should be the main focus because that first car costs millions. The second car and beyond are millions less and easier to fund later.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Steven Montana.

[michael-kruse]

Is Aptera in trouble? Here is why I ask:

1. The recent CFO resignation

2. Aptera in need of about $25 million

3. Crippling inflation

4. Supply chain issues

5. Chip shortages

I really want our dreams to happen, but I am concerned.

Please make me feel better.

[Russell]

1. The recent CFO resignation

That is a little disappointing. She seemed like she was very well qualified and I thought she was a great asset for the company.

2. Aptera in need of about $25 million

Funding does not look like an issue.

3. Crippling inflation

It is what it is, we all have to live through the negative effects of our government’s reckless spending.

4. Supply chain issues

Now here is something that impresses me about the Aptera team! These guys are starting up with with two assembly lines in mind. One is a low volume production line the other is full production. Their low volume production line can be started up on a limited budget and with limited supplies. The other can be built out as revenue from sales, investors, IPO, etc. comes in.

5. Chip shortages

Common to all manufacturers. Having a flexible production line helps minimize the negative cost effects of sporadic supply.

Over all I think Aptera has a good chance of starting up at least a limited production run in 2023. Provided the world’s political leaders don’t continue their trend toward chaos and press their red ‘distruct’ buttons.

[Chris]

Aptera has a world-class finance team who is committed to ensuring Aptera is in a strong financial position for the future. With the recent milestone of our solar panels beginning production, our Gamma reveal and continued work on finalizing our Delta vehicle, we couldn’t be more optimistic about Aptera’s future. We can’t wait to share more announcements and supply agreements in the coming months.

With growth, often comes change. The team wants to assure you that we haven’t lost momentum and we’re closer to meeting our goals than ever before. Thank you for being part of our movement and for your dedication to this paradigm shift.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by  Chris.

[Greek]

My thoughts are the more complex the idea, the harder it will be to implement and the harder it will be for the customer/client to understand and accept. There are many creative ways to approach this money raising issue. Also the more funds that are created the better off APTERA will be so it has breathing room and a reserve that will give them flexibility.

To truly raise capital internally through reservation holders and I’m going to get some hate for this. Allow those who have the funds and capability to offer 10k per a reservation holder to specifically towards production, this amount would go towards crediting the final purchase. The caveat would be that those who have made this unsecured investment would adjust their place in line. Most of the followers on this sight are of retirement age or are highly educated with reserve assets.

$10,000 x 5,000 res holders = $50,000,000

We can let APTERA play with the numbers through directed surveys. If 3 times as many people can offer $5k…..then by all means take that path.

It may seem unfair or too cutthroat, but at the end it would guarantee if the vehicle is produced that all would benefit. My 1st res number is 6949…I’m sure yes I would benefit somewhat….but the goal here is for everyone to benefit, APTERA, reservation holders and investors.

[Qiang]

Instead of stock, Aptera can issue bonds to the reservation holders. The interest payments will accumulate but not payable until the vehicle is delivered. The interest payments can only be used for payment toward to vehicle so that it does not add to the company’s cash burden. Should the reservation holders decide not to purchase the vehicle, the principal and interest will be converted to transferable vouchers toward future Aptera purchase.

Should Aptera go directly to the capital market, their bond will be rated as non-investment grade. So I would expect reasonably high interest rate.

I think giving the investors the interest is a more fair way of letting them jumping-the-line.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by  Qiang Fu.

[GNiessen]

I think the simplest solution is just for all of us to buy as much stock as we can.

[Pistonboy]

How much money does Aptera need to go into production ?

At one time it was stated they needed $50 million. Then they got $22 million from the state of California and arranged a $21 million from an investor. This leaves $7 million. In today’s society of mega millionaires, this is pocket change. Are these numbers still relevant?

So, after the $22 million and the $21 million, how much money does Aptera need TODAY to go into production ?

[Russell]

The remaining 7 million may have already been met through their latest crowd funding round.

[craig-merrow]

On a much smaller scale, I worked at a company that would build a couple of prototypes, then rush it into production rather than doing a couple of small alpha/beta runs to work out manufacturing techniques. Rather than build to a quality standard and look for cost savings, they always built to a cost standard and struggled with quality issues that ate into profit margins. I think Aptera is doing it right; I know it’s frustrating to wait on the final product, but they want to make sure it’s right the first time.

[Pistonboy]

I repeat my question if anyone knows.

How much money does Aptera need to go into production ?

At one time it was stated they needed $50 million. Then they got $22 million from the state of California and arranged a $21 million from an investor. This leaves $7 million. In today’s society of mega millionaires, this is pocket change. Are these numbers still relevant?

So, after the $22 million and the $21 million, how much money does Aptera need TODAY to go into production ?How much money does Aptera need to go into production ?

At one time it was stated they needed $50 million. Then they got $22 million from the state of California and arranged a $21 million from an investor. This leaves $7 million. In today’s society of mega millionaires, this is pocket change. Are these numbers still relevant?

So, after the $22 million and the $21 million, how much money does Aptera need TODAY to go into production ?

[Riley]

aptera itself doesn’t know, not until 100% of their design and production plans are complete. Its a bit of a paradox as the more money they get they adjust their plans than need more money.

[brad-morin]

• Hear me out on a potential way, a simple, quick way to get the funds needed to proceed with production.
• Aptera gives us a dollar amount needed to get production started. Then they request additional investment commitments and set up a running total of what investors would be willing to add to their previous investment if the running total of commitments reached that needed goal.
• So no one is legally bound to invest, even though the intent is to honestly commit as an individual once the combined committed total reaches the advertised goal.
• Say I commit to $10,000. I then watch the running commitment total rise. If/when the commitment total hits the goal, then I put in my $10,000.
• Only actual investors, former investors or new investors, could participates in this non-binding commitment, so as to bolster our trust in the sincerity of the commitments made.
• Once that commitment goal is reached, we would all put in our promised added investment, or more. I don’t need to be moved up in the queue to purchase my vehicle, because I know that just moving the ball forward will get me a vehicle sooner. I would also be securing the value of my earlier investment.
• Aptera, who has access to investors, would need to set this up, advertising the goal and plan to all established Aptera investors. Then they would need to daily, or hourly, publish the progress toward the goal. I would personally jump at the chance to dig deep into my sparse retirement to move this along if I saw the promise of others investing.

[bruce-mengler]

In Aptera’s filing with SEC dated December 9, 2022 it states as follows:

“Since August 14, 2022 and as of December 8, 2022, we have sold an additional 1,009,875 shares of the Class B Common Stock in this Offering for gross proceeds of $10,601,371.”

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1786471/000119312522301889/d415849d253g2.htm

[william-hester]

If you click on the newly implemented green “Invest Now” bar at the top of Aptera webpages, the link takes you to the Republic investment page for Aptera. This page displays how much has been raised thus far as well as a funding goal of $41.27M, shown on the right side of the screen near the top. Might this be the amount needed to finalize production tooling and whatnot? If so, there’s your progress bar.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by  William Hester.