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Accelerator Program
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Accelerator Program
updated 2 days, 18 hours ago
52 Members
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96
Replies
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Fact: 17 days (31%) into a 55-day Accelerate campaign with 275 (13.75%) of a projected 2000 investors and $3.37 million (17%) of a projected $20 million raised.
Isn’t the campaign falling a bit short thus far? How long will it need to be extended (and how much more consequent delay in beginning production will there be?) if the $20 million goal is to be fully met? Just wondering ….
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I think it will get to about half, i.e., 1000 entries & 10M.
I don’t think they were expecting to get all the way to production just with the accelerator program alone. I think they were hoping to be able to save some time waiting for some of the slower traditional corporate investments.
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I am on the fence. I have the funds, I am OK with the specifications of the LE and I want a SEV now.
Right now I would like to know Aptera’s back up plan if they don’t hit their goal. And I want to know the long term strategy before I risk $10k .
As long as Aptera doesn’t go bankrupt or have a lot more dilution beyond this. This is a net $7500 premium to get the car I want now.
I think I was censored once but here it is again. I don’t think Aptera should aim so high with multiple models. (ie no 4 door). Don’t try to be an explosive growth stock. They will crash and burn. They should stick with the 2 seater trike. They should try to sell and maintain as many as they can, but that is it. Right size the staff now with this in mind and stop burning overhead in the waiting mode. If they kept the current focus they could make a reasonable annual profit in a couple of years.
I would really like to see 1000 spots from this program occupied and a well communicated back up plan before I jump in.
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As far as we know…there is no back up plan. This auction is to accelerate the production of the Aptera. Meaning these funds aren’t necessary to get to production but with them it will happen more quickly. The latest communication we received is that they need to round up $50M to get to production. They’ve also said they’re a year out for deliveries AFTER they hit this goal. Also, the California grant is NOT part of the $50M. The plan is to keep raising money best they can and move towards production at the speed of those funds coming in. Faster fund gathering, faster Aptera deliveries.
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Would Aptera get more investments if it was open to the world? I understand that if you’re in the top 2000 then you can collect from California… but would Aptera be open to helping those outside of the US with transportation and registration?
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Each country is different from what they will accept and register. A huge clerical commitment of funds and manpower to impose on a startup. APTERA is trying to run operations as lean as possible. until manpower is needed for production.
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@Zachary Camos
I live about 15 miles from the Aptera assembly building & I am retired so I have idle time.
I offer you or any other Aptera buyer to act as your agent to “pick up” your Aptera and drop it off anywhere in San Diego county where you have arranged for shipment to you. Don’t let the Carlsbad pickup dissuade you from investing in the Accelerator program.
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What happens if Aptera doesn’t meet their goal of 20 million dollars? More delays?
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$50 million is the goal they’ve said they need to reach this year. The Accelerator program is just part of that fund drive. They don’t care where the investments come from, it’s the sum of all the investments that determine when they can start producing. So other investments will determine when they get started in either case.
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Jason Hill posted on his LinkedIn in page:
Have I got a story (book) for you. The Accelerator program for Aptera Motors is like a solar sail. IYKYK
Unique identity for a truly unique vehicle.
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I am hopeful that these books are not finished until they can contain photos of actual production lines for vehicles, solar and batteries.
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They look bound to me. Wondering why money is being spent at this time for books? I personally would have liked to see some manufacturing pics along with final product. Maybe a pic or two of the 1st delivered vehicle to be included. Maybe it’s a sign of confidence to have a book out already for investor confidence?
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Like a lot of other postings from Jason Hill, don’t assume that’s a pic of a book – assume it’s a rendering till proven otherwise.
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It looks like the signups for the first 2000 Apteras have slowed down a lot. I am sure that there will be a rush at the end of March but it may not be enough to get the full 2k of preorders. I would like to suggest that a very limited number of options/ changes be allowed. I do not want or need all wheel drive. I will have a cyber truck and a Subaru with all wheel drive so the Aptera will stay home when the snow or mud is deep. For many people the price of the Aptera is a serious matter.
Deleting the third motor would bring the price down ~ $2500 and that would put quite a few players back in the game. It would also fit in better with the idea of simplicity and add to the number of miles per KW. The change would not slow production down at all. Run the wiring to the rear motor but don’t install it.
A 120V outlet would make camping a lot nicer. The last Aptera video I saw Chris talked about being able to cook in the Aptera. If the 120V outlet is standard in the first 2K great! If not, put one in for a reasonable charge. Aptera is going to wrap it with a standard wrap. They could contract with a San Diego based wrapper and when you come to pickup your Aptera they could use a small part of the facility to apply the wrap of your choice. Again for a reasonable fee. I am not certain I want one of the first vehicles produced.
If I wait I will get a more tested one and it will have the options I want and I won’t have to pay for the options I don’t want. I am around #12000 but I am sure a lot of the first 2000 are ahead of me in the que. If you subtract the foreign orders and those who poop out for one reason or another I should be able to get mine in the first year of production without a stock purchase. On the other hand if I am offered exactly the Aptera I want I will no doubt roll over and invest to be one of the first. If you wish to add any ideas of options please only include those that relate to stuff already a part of the vehicle. No research or changes to the structure or anything that will slow down the process.
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So at this point it seems clear that under the current program the 2000 slots will not be filled and the $20M goal will not be reached.<div>
They will probably roll out some additional incentives here shortly to try and convince more people to invest, or to invest more. However I don’t think goodie bags and the like are going to cut it.
One thing that would make a big difference and virtually guarantee all 2000 slots will be filled is the ability to lock in the current published price. It’s no secret that price increases are in the works, in every interview they all but say that is coming. But they are in business to make a profit so I don’t think it’s possible or feasible to guarantee all 43000 or so reservation holders the current price. But 2000 seems doable and would make a big difference in my opinion.
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All across Social Media and email i am seeing this change.
- To enable more trailblazers to join the program and continue to change the world through solar mobility, we will continue to accept investments beyond the original deadline of March 26, 2023.
- Now anyone who invests $10,000 or more will join us as an Aptera Accelerator and be one of the first 2,000 people to take delivery of their very own Aptera.
- The cap remains at 2,000 slots ranked by investment amount, but now anyone who has invested $10,000 or more on or after January 27th, 2023 will be guaranteed priority delivery of their vehicle. Don’t miss out! There are less than 1,500 spots left.
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This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by Rich Garlick. Reason: english
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This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by Gabriel Kemeny.
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new investors now pouring in with just 10k and not one cent more…..till. all slots are filled next week, month or a little bit later….
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Removing the end date but keeping the limit to 2,000 is a wise move by management.
There appears to be a steady flow of new investments so why stop the flow by applying an end date.
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As noted by others, the Accelerator program has been “extended.” And also as others have pointed out, this is yet another deadline not met by Aptera. Clearly the Accelerate program will not come even close to reaching its stated goals of 2000 new investors and $20 million raised by the original deadline. If viewed objectively, the Accelerate program was/is a failure by any credible metric, unless “less than 50% of goal” is somehow considered a “success.” And I have zero confidence that the original goal can or will be met in a sufficiently timely fashion for a launch of production by the currently stated deadline of late 2023 or early 2024.
The simple truth, as I see it, is that two circumstances are “in play,” and I believe those two circumstances will ultimately doom Aptera in its entirety. First, despite the vociferous cheerleading from a number of ardent supporters, the consumer market is simply not ready for such a markedly non-traditional vehicle configuration. The overall design (2-seat, 3-wheel, exotic shape) has extremely limited appeal. Large-scale investors undoubtedly recognize that circumstance and are thus reluctant to commit large sums for fear that they are likely to lose their investment entirely. Second, the Aptera leadership seems to lack the ability to transform a laudable dream into a concrete reality. The too-numerous missed deadlines are the most obvious sign of that circumstance. Deadlines are not simply “missed” by small margins. That might be forgivable. Instead, they are missed by sometimes huge margins, which erodes whatever investor confidence there may have once been in the company.
There is still one “hail mary” possibility for recovery: MEET A DEADLINE. Leadership needs to put aside the rose-colored glasses and overly-optimistic public relations efforts and simply meet a single deadline. With luck, doing so might restore some level of confidence in the endeavor as a whole. Regrettably, I am personally convinced, based on Aptera’s record to date, that Aptera will never reach production … not in 2023, nor in 2024, nor even in 2025. I have no idea what Aptera’s own criteria are for throwing in the towel, but I have to think that leadership must already have a shut-down scenario in mind … unless they plan to forge blindly forward indefinitely in hopes of scraping enough pennies together to open a factory. But one way or another, I cannot help but believe that Aptera will fail before a single vehicle is produced, sold, and driven away by a customer.
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I think the situation is not nearly as dire as you suppose.
It wouldn’t be deception, IMO, to suggest you need $20 million and you can see an upside to the original rules and goals of the accelerator program.
I think given the general turmoil in the market their program is successful. I mean banks are failing but desertskies … the sky isn’t falling . . . I don’t think … or at least not yet … 🙂
We’re in a generally fearful moment in large part because certain forces find political advantage with rising fear among those ‘paying attention.’ I mean conventional wisdom says that investing in a new car company in boom times is problematic and risky.
I think they’ve done a marvelous job in raising money with this program. I think limiting the program to the 2,000 without a deadline – an arbitrary deadline it appears – will allow for a little more time to see how things are settling out.
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Based on nothing. So based on nothing I say that Aptera is now doing exceptionally well. Getting a Grant like the day before yesterday lures big investors much much faster. And as I foresee it, that has allready happened, but has not yet been officially announced. Mark my words!
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I think your wrong about deadlines. I’ve got money doing nothin in my 401k and may consider stepping up and joining the Accelerators. I’ll have 1100 shares that may later become Tesla-like, and 5% off one of the first five hundred Launch Editions to come off the line. Being a San Diego resident, I could be joining other Accelerators this time next year when it becomes ground zero for efficient solar mobility. Two months ago I thought I would just wait and get a base model, then I invested $1K, then I switched to the LE, now I just may jump further into the rabbit hole. Judging by how more people are investing with just $10K to secure a spot, I’m not alone.
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I think the guys misread their audience with the Accelerator program, as in too optimistic. What I am most concerned about is this change to a “no end date” program may cause the deep pockets investors to rethink pouring the big bucks into Aptera.
OTOH, as I do not have deep pockets, maybe the change makes no difference.
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It takes some vision to really see what is happening. The acceleration is allready accelerating…just one day after the announcement. The total amount will be lower than with the previous time slot… But it will reach 2000 easily now….
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If Aptera wants to increase the likelihood of people investing in the AAP, then they should address the delivery issue. If I had $10k hanging around, I would still be holding off until I figured out how to get the vehicle from southern CA to the DC area and the cost of that.
Maybe Aptera could get out ahead of the issue somehow.
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@Dr.D I believe once APTERA gets to the point of manufacturing and place holders receive the call for their production line expectancy of their vehicle, they will have a better idea as to how to assist the buyers with delivery. Personally, living in Illinois, at the moment we have 19 potential buyers that I am hoping to contact with APTERA’s help to arrange for blocks of these vehicles to be picked up an dropped off all in one spot to decrease the cost for each individuals shipment. Looking at all the states participating, I’m sure that there will be others interested and willing to organize this. I also plan on calling local media so that they can see the vehicles up close and in person as they are delivered in bulk. It will look like aliens have landed, should have a nice impact, along with some free advertising.
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I was actually looking at the Accelerator Program and on the fence about investing another $10k in order to be one of the first 2,000 owners to receive an Aptera, until….I read farther that the $10k doesn’t guarantee me a spot, it only puts me on the board until someone else comes along and invests $10,001 dollars and bumps me off.
I was pretty excited for just about as long as it took me to ferret out that information.
No. I’ll stick with my original investment, but am a little soured on the idea now.
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You misread the program – that was the original design, but since the extension earlier this week, you can’t get bumped off anymore. Once on the list you are guaranteed a spot.
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Thanks Biker, I went back and have reviewed it and it does look like that changed.
I’m taking a chance and went ahead with the additional investment. Heck, I ate $30k in ZSAN bankruptcy, and I have more faith in Aptera, so I’m in. In the future I’ll probably wish I’d gone all in, but we’ll see. Looks like I’ll be one of the 2000. Now, lets get them built!
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Does anybody know if APTERA is allowed to tap in to the ACCELERATOR funds to start purchasing their list of equipment needed?
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I don’t know the answer for absolute certain. That said, I can’t think of any reason they wouldn’t be able to spend that money. Can anyone else?
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Didn’t Chris Anthony say that they won’t be starting production until they have $50 million? Maybe they want to just keep the money in the bank earning interest until all the money is available, maybe even until the federal energy loan has been approved, then they can be confident to move forward? It would be really bad if they bought equipment and then for some reason the whole process got stalled because there wasn’t enough money, and then it would be a case of being stuck with equipment they don’t need for a company that is being liquidated. Not that I am saying that will happen, but in this era of high interest rates, keeping money in the bank certainly isn’t a bad thing. It may also be that certain suppliers need to commit time and money to manufacture equipment, and won’t commit to that until they know Aptera has all the money they need to move forward with production.
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I believe they are using funds as they see the need. There are many items requiring long lead times that are being ordered now. While they may keep some in reserve, that was not their stated purpose so I believe it will be minimal. As the program continues to be active, I believe it will bolster their confidence with moving forward as funding allows.
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From what I’ve seen, they are already buying the most important stuff. The biggest example being the dies for CPC.