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New Interview With Nathan Armstrong (6/27/22)
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16 Replies
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New Interview With Nathan Armstrong (6/27/22)
updated 11 months, 2 weeks ago
9 Members
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16
Replies
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Thanks for posting the link. I wanted to really enjoy this interview but I found it somehow disheartening. It almost seems to me that Aptera is now sort of an afterthought to Nathan. From the outside, my perception is that they are at a critical stage where all hands are needed on deck to get vehicles to customers. Nathan is still the CTO but he isnt in country and he’s off focusing on his electric motorcycle company. It comes across as him being CTO in name only, just to not scare the investors with change in the executive structure of the company. It feels as if he made his money and now he’s off doing something he *actually* cares about. Im probably wrong. I hope im wrong. But as somebody looking at likely 24 months of waiting for my delivery, I’d like to see the CTO a bit more engaged.
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@Jonathan Reni With some hundred or more engineers working on specific aspects of the vehicle, the CTO doesn’t have much hands-on work to do: In a corporate structure, the CTO pretty much just signs-off on the various projects run by the project managers and then reports to the Board.
Nathan’s initial suspension design, for example, has been superseded by Roush’s designs…
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If he were just a board member, I wouldnt be bothered at all. But he is part of the executive team. Im sure there are still plenty of technology hurdles that need to be overcome. I appreciate your reply and I am rooting for Aptera 110%. Its just odd for me to hear their CTO speak of Aptera mostly in the past tense and talking about those guys over in California..
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@Jonathan Reni Oh, I agree that there are still hurdles – but Aptera has been hiring engineers and technicians who have the specific skill sets and areas-of-focus necessary to deal with them. The details of designing and refining an automotive HVAC system, for example, might not be in Nathan’s wheelhouse. So having him in-house, hands-on on a daily basis probably isn’t a necessity.
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I dont disagree with you. But why keep him on as CTO in this case? He can just take a cushy board seat. I expect the CTO of a company to respond with a level of excitement when they are on the verge of delivering their first vehicles to customers. I really get any enthusiasm from this… more like him talking about an ex wife that shares a child with. Again, im likely wrong…. but when Chris talks about Aptera, its clear that hes engaged and that hes absolutely excited about the progress and direction. Rant over though. Thanks for the kind replies.
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Great to see Nathan again
I am glad Nathan “mashed the Aptera together for us” while the growing talent is bring it over the goal line
I always recall working from Canada. A few Zoom Meetings I called into had him reporting out of Canada.
I worked remotely, when I could, for 43 years. Technology is making this so much easier these days
( We have a dear couple/friends , both talented in their field/ hobbies. They may have been upset with the changing world around them 😔 and they were able to move to Costa Rica and basically retire and now picked up Spanish and teach / share with the locals their trade/talents, some without the modern tolls/ equipment they had here! We are glad we still have the internet to keep in touch. We are so glad their art/projects/ books are around for all to enjoy! Some we had commissioned for us.
We trust Aptera will be that unique sEV that is just the beginning of another great story)
Whatever works!
Go Nathan❗️ Go Aptera‼️ 🌞Charge On❗️‼️
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Oz, thanks for posting this very interesting video. Nathan speaks about developing the latest generation prototype Aptera with Jason Hill, Chris, and Steve in late 2019. That segment starts at the 5:40 mark in the video and runs to 9:40 where he comments on his views of the short term future of EV’s in general. Good nuggets of Aptera history here.
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A lot of Management and Marketing Speak in this thread. The fact is the CTO of Aptera has not been involved in Aptera to any degree for some time, is in Canada, and working in his new company on their product. The company failed to disclose this information.
It is really beneath you stalwarts to peddle this otherwise. ☹ Disappointed
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Nathan Armstrong builds prototypes. That was his path in and his shared vision was to build the most efficient concept car for transportation. He did this in 2002-07 with Jason Hill, Chris and Steve. They thought through it, saw it get mucked up when the ‘big money guys’ chose traditional Deeetroit over the innovators.
The one thing he disclosed that I had not heard – is the interersting tidbit that the person who held the IP for Aptera until 2019 and died only to have his widow (I’m assuming} sell Chris and Steve the IP for the restart.
As technology officer, Armstrong painted the pictures and built the prototypes.
From what I’ve seen, it looks to me like Armstrong lost some interal battles like the use of Canadian hemp in the production of the composite monocoque. You don’t hear that any more and, if you didn’t notice, Armstrong’s POV and apparent mission is more closely aligned with local jobs in Calgary.
The point is he’s made his contributions and if you like the looks of Aptera going back to the first iteration, you know that Armstrong’s contribution was foundational.
That said, his talent is not organizing the production of suspension components for 12,000 vehicles meaning, in this iteration, production of upwards of 30,000 motors … etc. etc. I’m sure he was 100 percent on board with engaging with Monro and Associates for the design of rhe production process and guidance through all the subsequent suppliers.
There are a lot of moving parts and while they’re all swirling toward almost miraculous culmunation in the first produced Aptera vehicle, Armstrong is right where he needs to be … off tinkering with rational vision of battery usage ’cause the world needs ten Aptera more than it needs an electric hummer.
Indeed, keeping the efficiency vision and why it is important remains a key challenge for Aptera.
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@George Hughes – and don’t forget Crank Software, the Canadian firm that designed the UI shown in the Betas. I believe the UI is now being handled by the California software firm that Aptera recently acquired… So no hemp, no Crank – what next, no maple syrup dispenser? 😁
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@Jonah Jorgenson As @Leonard Nowak said, most of us who’ve seen Nathan have only ever seen him calling-in from Canada. Even while working with Aptera he was working on other projects: His company designs and builds prototypes. I’m not sure what you think Aptera has “failed to disclose”.
Aptera also never named the company in Reno, Nevada, the built the Alpha bodies: Is that ALSO part of the conspiracy? 😏
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Ha, I think you know exactly what I believe they failed to disclose. Conspiracy is a little strong. Your word not mine. But if you believe the nondisclosure reached that level, you are free to do so.
The company in Nevada was not listed as an “Officer of the company” which Nathan as a CTO would be. As an Officer of the company, their involvement in the company and other business activities are subjected to disclosure (Conflicts of business interest would be the subject of disclosure)
I don’t think you can honestly state to me that Nathan was “Committed” to his role as a CTO to the extent you would expect of a CTO or to any extent as a CTO during the last 12 months of development leading up to production, or that he is at this point committed to his Aptera CTO duties while working on his company in Canada. Yet he is consistently listed as the CTO under “Executives” with no mention of any other active business interests.
In my view, big dent in Aptera credibility and mantle of openness and certainly a known nondisclosure of the status of an Officer of the Company.
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This reply was modified 11 months, 2 weeks ago by Jonah Jorgenson. Reason: update content
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This reply was modified 11 months, 2 weeks ago by
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Aptera Owners club made a good video on the early days and resurrection of Aptera in 2019. It really seems like his role may have scaled back given his other companies. Alternatively they may wanted to control expectations more since some of his statements in calls were perhaps too speculative on what could be done than what will be in the delivered product.
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I think the kicker was that Nathan noted that the Aptera will float. We know you can drive through standing water with the hub motors suggesting, at least to the most adventurist among us, that forging the Mississloppi River at Cairo, IL is a worthwhile challenge. (This is the widest part of the river and is also where the Ohio River joins the mighty Mississippi. Don’t believe me? Ask Huck Finn 😉
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Some people who are serial seeders and only stick around for the beginning of a project, and some people are your steady-state and late-stage folks. Some paint with a broad brush and some are excellent at optimizing and refining. It’s not unusual to see figures swap out as projects mature as the need for generalists gives way to specialists.
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Insightful comment. Thanks, Paul.
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