Three year anniversary of first preorders

[len]

I rediscovered Aptera, as Aptera Motor Corporation now, in August 2019, just by a curious internet search that day. I was bitten my Aptera in the 2005-2011 time period when I also had a ride in the 2e. So my interest is long and deep.

And even back then, living some 3000 miles away from Carlsbad, I knew I would have to be patient as even being able to make a reservation for an Aptera was not known????

????Luckily in Dec 2020 I was able to place a pre order reservation, with the original founders at control! I hold a low two digit reservation number. I now live much closer to the new company/new Carlsbad manufacturing location.

As Aptera has said…. It is a better time to make an Aptera.

What no one knew since then….was the ????pandemic and what that impact would be, add the supply challenges, which impact just about everything. “Life!”as they say! So I guess I need to try to stay healthy and safe in this crazy world ???? rewarding myself with an Aptera as things continue to advance… although never as fast as one would like.

I am not a young dude, so I face this reality with all my free time. Thinking back when I worked every day, traveled the world as part of that requirement…. This may have been easier to pass the days.

So…

Hang in there! Beta should be interesting to follow, a least for me…getting me through understanding how all this unique Aptera technology will come together before it is mine!

I have never had the opportunity to “follow along” as my car came together. Handmade … at that!

¯\_(~̃ ͜ʖ°̃)_/¯ ╮(╯_╰)╭ ٩(˘◡˘)۶

[ray-holan]

Appreciate hearing about your story, Leonard. Also thanks to Riley for starting this thread. I’m a newbie to the reservation queue as I made my pre-order on September 3, 2021. As I thrash around with my impatience, I can console myself with the fact that many folks like yourselves have been camped out in the waiting line a lot longer!

[john-malcom]

This is a good idea!

My initial contact with Aptera came in mid December last year when an engineering colleague of mine said I should take a look at it because it matched my obsession with optimization at the systems level. He was right. A few quick looks and I was hooked! and made my reservation.

Since then not disappointed. I learned about and developed admiration for their management; single focus on the efficiency goal at the systems level, background and experience, openness about the development of their product, and approach to generating capital. Like many others, learned a lot about the vehicles engineering. Some of those lessons applied in my work life in a similar domain.

For me the greatest feature is engineering resulting in greater reliability (Fewer things to break), performance(Range, and acceleration), and ease of production.

[OZ.]

Like Len, I was a follower and reservation holder during the early 2000 iteration, when that attempt fell through, I kept a vigil of searches up on the internet, in the hope that someone would pick up the torch. As much as many complain that Facebook knows too much about us, I was rewarded by the AI knowing of my interest, and posting a link to the just released Wefunder campaign for the new Aptera. I was there, my friends on that cold December morning last year, when the dedicated squads of Aptera loyalists fought a frenzied battle for a low number. I am now a very happy follower, ambassador, supporter, and Paradigm Plus reservation holder. Long live Aptera!

????

[glenn-zajic]

I was a double reservation holder a dozen years ago. When all that fell apart ( and I received a complete refund ) I was still disappointed about the circumstances. When I totally stumbled across Aptera again about a year ago, I was disappointed that they had not contacted previous reservation holders to let us know they were back. Seems like they missed out on a bunch of early buyers if they would have contacted us. Also, speaking for myself only, I would have invested in them earlier in this renewed company. Maybe they didn’t have access to that earlier database. Water under the bridge now. Since that time my opinion of Aptera has only gotten better. The product has only improved as have the technologies making this an even better time for them to go forward. There has never, to my knowledge, been a company so open about their development and progress towards manufacturing. Oh, for sure there have been scammers and hustlers just trying to get investment money, but not anyone doing what Aptera is doing for all the right reasons. They have my complete faith and confidence as they persevere in this fantastic mission.

[danny-mattijetz]

I was a reservation holder during the previous iteration of Aptera, and I did get a notification through email using the old email address I was using at that time. I don’t use it often, but I do still check it occasionally. That was the only way I knew to go out and check up on the current status. And I am now, once again, a reservation holder.

[kerbe2705]

Don’t forget the message you’ll receive asking you for a percentage deposit to confirm your reservation! ???? I expect it to be at least 20% of the purchase price.

[Biker]

@riley … I hope you get your wish by next year.

[Riley]

Me too, I am hopeful that aptera will succeed and am very glad they’ve made the progress they have while not having any major red flags.

[Pragmatic_to_a_Fault]

I wonder how many of the initial preorder holders have completely forgotten the $100 they put down ?

It’s easy to forget $100 over time.

[david-marlow]

While I have gift cards that I have forgotton about and have made some $100 or more mistakes, how much I put down on my Aptera is less important to me than getting one.

[wingsounds13]

I would think that precious few who placed a reservation for an Aptera would forget it, whether for $1, $100 or $1000 would make little difference.

[Russell]

I’ve changed my opinion over the years, not about the vehicle but with the co-CEOs. From the very beginning I loved the idea of Aptera but Chris and Steve didn’t impress me as being able to make it a reality. Too many early design changes among other things. So I didn’t invest or put in a reservation.

This time around they’re both more seasoned. They seem more focused, and their design goals aren’t changing, simply being refined with each stage of development.

This time I’m impressed enough with them to be an investor and reservation holder.

[Biker]

@riley-riley, unless you are Accelerator it doesn’t look good for next year either for getting your vehicle.

[Riley]

I am not an exellerator but even with 2,000 people jumping ahead of me i am still expecting to be 2,500 or less in line with delivery maybe middle of 2025. Hopefully by than my 200,000 dogecoins will be enough to buy one outright.

[ROMAD]

CA has stated he expects to deliver Accelerator LE #1,500 in mid-2025. Hopefully the 2,000th Accelerator LE will be delivered by the end of 2025, if so, you should get yours in 2026.

[Kamakiri]

No, he did not say ’mid-2025’. He did say ‘…some time into 2025…’ to deliver #1,512. There’s a difference.

[craig-merrow]

I switched to an LE after realizing that it was pretty much the same thing as what I spec’d out (except for the Vida orange interior bits – a small sacrifice). Still hoping for 2025, although it might not be until 2026. It will be worth the wait. In the meantime, I’m buying CD’s and Aptera shares on Republic for the day that I take delivery.

[UnidentifiedDrivingObject]

As # 25,6xx & live in SoCal (if that really matters), I am a patient (wait-and-see) guy. I can absolutely wait to take delivery, after others get their Apterae first. After all, I usually wait a year (or two) for initial model releases of vehicles, to sort out any build issues, software glitches, kinks, etc to be fixed. No rush at all (nor reason to switch to LE; mine’s a Noir).

[ROMAD]

Must be nice not to have to factor in your life expectancy! BTW, is that number the order # given when you placed the order or the “adjusted” queue #?

[UnidentifiedDrivingObject]

It is the order # given (placed 6/11/22). Am not too familiar with the adjusted. The way I understand it, the actual is deduct 10,000? Honestly, I prefer the 25,6xx spot. Being a SoCal resident, would probably even hasten my order. Honestly, am not too keen of that (as an Early Adopter..with headaches). Lol.

For context, as an example in r/electricvehicles subReddit, someone posted earlier today of a Fisker Ocean owner having software issues, on Day One of ownership (should be an easy fix, but still..). While in some city in Florida, the onboard maps indicated that the he is in Alaska. Even after a hard reset..he’s still in Alaska. And how many Fisker Ocean’s were delivered to owners so far (Q1-Q3 2023)..a low 1,108 units.

https://insideevs.com/news/696057/fisker-ocean-production-deliveries-2023q3/#:~:text=By%20the%20end%20of%20September,Total%20deliveries%3A%201%2C108

[Mike-Mars]

It’d be around 23k when adjusted

[UnidentifiedDrivingObject]

At 23k, ok. I hope the ORK & openpilot (on top of Noir) slows it down further

[Mike-Mars]

If you want it later, just tell them to push you further back in the queue when they ring up to confirm. They’ve said that people can defer the purchase (lots of reasons for doing that – waiting for later options, not ready for a new car yet, haven’t got the money together yet, waiting for referrals to come through, …).

• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by  Michael Marsden.

[UnidentifiedDrivingObject]

Well, I’ll just let destiny takes it’s course. No one knows the future anyways, nor anyone possessing the vaunted Aptera “crystal ball”. When it’s time for my order to be called in..I’ll decide then (2025-26) I’ll cross that bridge (of Aptera ownership), when I get there. For now..no rush. Wait-and-see mode..how the Accelerator & first 20k+ unit deliveries go..

[Mike-Mars]

Oh, one extra thought. Yes the adjusted position is 23k, but remember the following points:

• Not everyone with a reservation will proceed to a full order. Generally speaking, for refundable pre-orders, you are doing very well if you get 30% conversions, and most get less. For the accelerators, the conversion rate will probably be quite a bit higher, but for normal pre-orders, it’s likely to be in that ballpark.
• Not everyone is in the USA. Quite a lot of orders are worldwide, and they won’t be in the first batches of vehicles. Lets say it’s 60% in the USA/Canada and 40% elsewhere.
• Some people want different options (2WD, 250/600/1000 mile battery, wraps, etc), and these will come a little later.

[UnidentifiedDrivingObject]

Yes there’s a lot of variables in play. I’m at 22,8xx and SoCal. Though I have a Noir wrap, ORK, FS (like everyone else) and openpilot (probably a go). I’ll see how the unit deliveries go before me. My options are open (even a PHEV Prius Prime) and a lot of EVs are coming to market by that time period. But Aptera still tops. By mere registration & insurance costs alone, you’re ahead vs a typical 4 wheel EV. The solar charging is the icing..

[ROMAD]

For orders placed after August 2021 divide by 2 then add 10,000. So 25,6xx / 2 = 12,8xx + 10,000 = 22,8xx.

For earlier 2021 orders it is order # – 10,000 divided by 2

Both calculations give approximate position

[david-marlow]

I expect that when Aptera has a PI to show they will get the Large investor(s) they need to order the production equipment they need to proceed with faster production. And after it hits the roads in enough numbers for the general public to reconize it and start to understand it, with the IPO. the demand should jump from 10’s of thousands of orders to 100’s of thousands orders, the investments will grow and that’s when more factories will be possible. All of that by the end of 2025. So I see as Aptera as getting ready for takeoff.

[steven-runyon]

I have known about Aptera for a couple of years but just now ordered one, and became an investor. Now I’m seeing how they go back a long time, and still no cars, makes me worried. seeing the 2013 edition of Jay Leno’s garage with the Aptera, makes me hope it wont take another 10 years to come out. Love the concept, hope they keep the End User repairable ideas and It is what they say it is. Hope to get mine next year, but kinda having my doubts.

[glenn-zajic]

If you just now ordered, and you are not in the accelerator program, there is no way you will get one next year. If you ordered the 400 mi LE model you might see it in 2025.

[harry-parker]

This will be an exercise in patience for all. From what I’ve heard Chris Anthony say in an interview, at best only a few hundred to a thousand Apteras will be delivered to customers next year. Then between 5 and 10 thousand the year after that. So unless you are one of the top several hundred or so Aptera Accelerator investors, you’ll be waiting until sometime in 2025 or later, as will I.

[Greek]

Patience or hyper sleep for at least a year (if it was a real thing). I do think though there will be great moments of excitement as APTERA starts hitting milestones. 1st the shipments of the PI’s, then passing each of its testing parameters along with final tuning to the delivery of the first APTERA. Should make for a most exciting 2024 and the wait well worth it.