Frequently Asked Questions

Aptera will create the most efficient transportation on the planet. We achieve this by leveraging breakthroughs in battery efficiency, aerodynamics, material science, and manufacturing.

Aptera’s Launch Edition vehicle is the first product in a portfolio of Solar Electric Vehicles (sEVs) being produced by Aptera Motors that are powered by the sun and won’t need charging for most daily use. We are an efficiency-obsessed brand offering an array of safe, comfortable, and fun-to-drive vehicles. Through innovation and intelligent efficiency, we pride ourselves on our creative solutions to problems previously thought impossible.

No, Aptera is not a car. We call it a Solar Electric Vehicle, because it’s powered by the sun and also charged with batteries when plugged in. Technically speaking, Aptera can be classified as a motorcycle or auto-cycle. A helmet is not required because Aptera is enclosed, and the vast majority of states only require that you have a regular driver’s license to operate Aptera.

Our main goal is efficiency. Aptera leads the pack by having the least “rolling resistance” — the friction that comes from the wheels against the ground. Our three wheel design — instead of four, eliminates a touch point where energy can be lost.

Aptera’s specialized composite structure is called a Body in Carbon (BINC). The majority of the BINC is made of Carbon Fiber Sheet Molding Compound (CF-SMC) combined with Glass Sheet Molding Compound (SMC). Fiber-SMC is a lightweight material consisting of a random arrangement of short fibers that make it possible to mold intricately shaped parts. It offers much higher stiffness and strength than standard SMC and can be press-molded, substantially reducing manufacturing time for the vehicle’s body. We are looking towards more organic fibers like Hemp and Bamboo for our non-structural parts.

Aptera is 14.8 ft long (4.55 m), 7.3 ft (2.23 m) wide, and 4.6 ft (1.4 m) high. Aptera has 32.5 cubic feet of luggage capacity. But what can you fit in it? Find out in this video. We can’t wait for the adventures you and your Aptera will go on.

Aptera is technically not classified as a car, it’s a motorcycle or auto-cycle. The vast majority of states only require that you have a regular driver’s license to drive a three-wheel vehicle like the Aptera. States that we’re aware currently require a motorcycle license are AK, MA, and WY (check your local laws for clarity). We will work hard to show these outlier states that the safety and ease of use of the Aptera should allow its operation without a motorcycle license. 

Yes, we will use automotive safety glass for the windshield and door windows.

Aptera will be equipped with two sun visors and have UV tint in all our windows, but you may need to add more. Luckily most places don’t have motorcycle tint restrictions.

In the rear cargo, Aptera will have six tie-downs — four for separation between the cargo area and the seats. We also plan to offer a high-strength cargo net and dividers to shield the luggage space and the cabin. There are plenty of aftermarket possibilities to explore as well.

The first 100 Apterae will get special treatment, but after that, we will have a fairly standard warranty. Comparable to that of any modern electric vehicle. We expect to offer a 10-year warranty on the high-voltage battery pack. Warranty information will be released on our website nearing the start of production, and we encourage you to subscribe to our email newsletter at the footer of our website to stay up-to-date with all announcements.

At this time, no spare is included at the time of purchase. We envision a standard insurer or AAA roadside assistance will be able to help. The team will announce their recommendation and where one could be stored. Similar to other electric vehicles, the idea is to not include a spare which weighs down the vehicle’s efficiency.

The production-intent Aptera will be highly comfortable, with lightweight seats and a spacious cabin. We aim for our finalized design to allow drivers to easily get in and out of the vehicle. There will be several iterations of this design before the production vehicle debuts. Our engineers and design teams are consistently making improvements, and we look forward to showing off further innovations while we race to production.

Learn more about the design from the Chief of Design himself. Jason Hill provides more details on Gamma:

You can clean Aptera and the solar panels with soap and water.

You can plug Aptera in like any other electric vehicle to get up to 1,000 miles in range on a single charge. We offer 250, 400, 600, and 1,000-mile battery packs. The built-in solar power is an added bonus— adding up to 40 miles a day of range powered by the sun that trickles down to charge your battery pack and top off any electric charge.

The solar continues to accumulate additional range each day up to the max range available in your battery pack. And according to our calculations, that’s more than 10,000 miles of solar per year. That’s a lot of free driving!

While we are looking into this as a possibility for the future, a third seat will not be an option at the initial launch.

We will use Industry Standard testing protocol to ensure reliability and durability. We will use all available resources to do mileage accumulation, accelerated wear testing, full vehicle rig/shaker testing, and common automotive practices of hot/cold extreme environment testing at various proving-ground locations around the country.

Simulations are great but having the people that designed the vehicle spend time in it is worth its weight in gold! 

Our goal is to sell Aptera worldwide everywhere possible. Our first three-wheel vehicle may not meet every global market’s requirement— we have an EU homologation and certification expert working with us to investigate minor model changes and help streamline the process as much as possible to meet the earliest production deliveries. We are still preparing for U.S. deliveries— we hope to begin international deliveries shortly after. Please follow our social media handles @aptera_motors and subscribe to our email newsletter for updates.

We encourage you to reserve your spot and help bring Aptera to your region even sooner. You can reserve your very own Aptera at https://aptera.us/. 

You can reserve your very own Aptera at aptera.us.

Please begin by first logging into your Aptera account. If you do not have an account, please sign up to create an account. If you have questions about reserving an Aptera or need assistance accessing your online account, please email us through our Contact Us page. You can view delivery timing updates through your Aptera account dashboard (click My Account).

Aptera pricing is between $25,900 to $46,000+ depending on range and options. Our goal is to make Aptera accessible for everyone who wants to drive an efficient EV.

We are in the process of selecting financing partners— our goal is to offer market competitive rates, and you are always welcome to find your own financial institution if you have a favorite bank or credit union. Our team will keep all Aptera members up to date with the options available at purchase time! Please look out for updates as we near the start of production.

We will focus on aerodynamic, lightweight vehicles with efficient powertrains. And those will likely not look like standard passenger cars. We will expand to more seats and wheels over time, always ensuring our vehicles exceed the highest safety and performance standards.

At this time, we are not planning to have the battery upgradable in segments. Our goal is to build this vehicle modularly to keep the cost low and hopefully help us scale quickly. This could be a possibility in the future!

You may choose to upgrade your battery through the Aptera dashboard prior to the delivery and purchase time once signed into your account.

We will contact customers who have preorder reservations for Aptera with more information about shipping options once production is underway. You can find out an estimate of the current timing in your Aptera member portal, along with configuration information for your vehicle.

You can make changes to your configuration once logged into your Aptera account until contacted to confirm the final selections closer to the date of purchase and delivery!

We will optimize order delivery and early adopter satisfaction, by announcing that certain configurations will be made first, such as the 400-mile range battery pack. The goal is to deliver vehicles as closely as we can to the order in which they were placed. 

Many cells can fail in our pack design before things need to be replaced, and if replacement is needed, you would only need to replace the pack itself. We expect to offer a 10-year warranty on the high-voltage battery pack. The replacement costs will vary, but they should be far less than any other EV, as our packs are smaller for a given range.

We will have exact answers regarding our battery warranty and repair/replacement cost and plan as we get closer to production time.

The first Apterae we plan to produce will be the 400-mile range version Launch Edition vehicle. Timing (or your reservation slot number) will depend on factors including – your geographical location, vehicle’s configuration, and reservation date. Additionally, through the Aptera Accelerator Program, the first 2,000 Launch Edition vehicles produced during the first few months of production will be prioritized for early deliveries to investors for us to accelerate the production plan for everyone, then our 350 Paradigm members.

We will share a delivery timeframe or approximate position in the delivery queue for all Aptera preorder reservation holders once we meet our funding objectives and have finalized our regional rollout plan. We are in the business of doing the once-thought impossible and are committed to bringing solar mobility to life. It would not be possible without the strong and passionate community behind us and the sun that powers our movement. The road for solar mobility is paved, and we are a team of innovators and pioneers who are not afraid to challenge the status quo to change the world for the betterment of humanity.

Aptera is registered and insured as a motorcycle. We are working on partnerships in this area to make it as easy as possible for Aptera drivers to obtain coverage. For companies to quote you, it will take a VIN #— those will become available closer to our production start date! Please stay tuned for more information through our website and email newsletter as this develops.

Our goal is to sell Aptera worldwide, though it may take some time to be fully certified. Just like the universal nature of the sun, our movement is for everyone– not just someone. Updates to the timeline, pricing, and delivery details will be announced through your Aptera account page.

We encourage you to reserve your spot in line so that you will be one of the first to experience Aptera in your region. Please stay tuned for announcements through our social media channels; you can also subscribe to our email newsletter at the footer of our website. 

Accepting delivery at our final assembly facility in San Diego, CA, may allow for earlier delivery, but it is too soon to provide specifics. Our team will contact you to discuss your options that way, you are well informed and can prepare ahead of time. 

Aptera’s Launch Edition is the first vehicle we will begin to produce out of San Diego, California. Read more about its core specifications here. New and existing pre-order reservation holders can reconfigure their vehicles online to the Launch Edition with the click of a button through the Aptera dashboard.

Paradigm edition vehicles were reserved by our earliest adopters — leaders of the solar mobility movement. The Launch edition is what we offer first to Paradigm edition reservation holders. This will include the complete solar package and enhanced audio package. Your Paradigm edition Aptera will be uniquely marked (more details to come). Final vehicle pricing will be announced near the start of production, as there are still unknowns at this time.

Once we near your Paradigm vehicle in the reservation queue, we will call and email all of those members, regardless of the existing vehicle configuration, to talk through the timeline for delivery and options.

No, you do not. Please feel free to modify your vehicle’s configuration once signed into your Aptera dashboard at https://aptera.us/. You may do so until contacted to confirm the final selections closer to the date of purchase and delivery.

You can view your Aptera order online once logged into your account. Please click My Account on the top right-hand corner of the web page and then select Modify order next to your vehicle order identification number. If you would like to get your vehicle as soon as possible, we encourage you to reserve the Launch Edition Aptera.

Aptera has the longest range of any electric vehicle ever created – breaking the 1,000 mile per charge barrier. Integrated solar can be configured to provide over 40 miles of range per day with over three square meters and 180 efficient solar cells designed into the body structure. This makes the Aptera the first vehicle capable of meeting most daily driving needs with solar power alone.We have solved key manufacturing challenges allowing for rapid, high-volume and cost-efficient vehicle production – Aptera has just six main pieces.

At Aptera, we believe efficient transportation is crucial to managing our natural resources. With a focus on efficiency, Aptera makes better use of materials in construction and in their use. This saves resources we cannot afford to waste and lessens our overall impact on the planet and each other.

If Aptera produces one million vehicles, we’ll reduce our Co2 footprint by seven million tons per year. Each Aptera owner can reduce their carbon footprint by over 14,000 pounds of C02 per year, what 884 twenty five year old pine trees can absorb in a year. If one out of every 20 vehicles on the road were replaced with an Aptera, Americans would save 18 million gallons of gasoline every day or six BILLION gallons per year (assuming 20 mpg vehicle and $3 per gallon gas).

We will manufacture these vehicles ourselves and intend to do the initial assembly here in San Diego. As we expand, sub assemblies may be made elsewhere and eventually we will have other plants around the world producing our Solar Electric Vehicles.

We have many Aptera investors among our reservation holders, and it’s because of you we are making continued progress toward our goal of developing the most efficient transportation on the planet.

If you invested during our fundraising campaign on Wefunder and have questions, please email support@wefunder.com or visit https://wefunder.com.

If you invested in Aptera during our most recent round and you have questions, you can reach us by phone at 253-300-0383, by email at invest@aptera.us, or by live chat at https://portal.aptera.us/

For information on current opportunities to invest in Aptera, you can visit https://invest.aptera.us.

For inquiries regarding private placements, please email Equity@aptera.us.

San Diego, CA

We’re always looking for talented people who want to join us on our mission to reinvent the future of transportation and create a healthier planet. You can view and apply to our current job opportunities by visiting our careers page at https://aptera.us/careers/.

Sign up for our newsletter below or find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Reddit.

If you’re interested in joining our Aptera Ambassador program, email us at Ambassador@aptera.us.

Above all, continue spreading the word to your community about our mission to create the most efficient transportation on the planet.

Thank you for your support!

Aptera was created by Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro in an effort to make a better future for the planet possible through more efficient transportation. You can learn more about how Aptera was conceived and launched in this video.

Our founder Chris Anthony believes that when it comes to EV efficiency, the industry has got a long way to go. Hear more about what he has to say in the video below.

Hear from our fearless leaders, co-founders and co-CEOs, Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro.

We will focus on aerodynamic, lightweight vehicles with efficient powertrains, and those will likely not look like standard passenger cars. However, we will expand to more seats and wheels over time. Aptera is not just for someone; it is for everyone.

1,000 miles – $44,900
600 miles – $34,600
400 miles – $29,800
250 miles – $25,900

The exact prices and fees are not final at this time. We will announce this information as we get closer to ramping up production.

To stay up to date with all that’s happening at Aptera, please follow our social channels on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can search us at @aptera_motors. We also encourage you to subscribe to our email newsletter at the footer of our website. We’re thrilled to pave the way to solar mobility with you.

• https://invest.aptera.us/ – $1,000 minimum investment
  • Questions? Please do not hesitate to contact our support team via email at invest@aptera.us.
• https://republic.com/aptera – $210 minimum investment
  • Questions about investing through Republic? Please email us at equity@aptera.us. For support-related questions for Republic, please contact investors@republic.co.

In 2023 the Aptera team will begin systems integration and build Delta vehicles of various forms to be used for validation and crash testing. Once the crash testing and validation stages are complete, we will begin production of our Launch Edition vehicles.

Meet Delta, in the video below, our production-intent vehicle design. We’re showcasing the union of our continuous improvements throughout our Alpha, Beta, and Gamma development phases. This is important because Delta will pave the way for the Launch Edition Aptera: our first and most exclusive vehicles we’ll start production on.

Watch this video to see efficiency explained.

Aptera has significant safety advantages over other vehicles. Complete with an anti-lock braking system, forward collision warning with the safety pilot package, two airbags, four external cameras, and parking assist. We are designing to meet or exceed all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards and use industry-standard testing protocols to ensure reliability and durability.

Our Formula One-inspired safety cell uses advanced Carbon Fiber Sheet Molding Compound (CF-SMC) that is ultra-lightweight and many times stronger than steel, paired with metallic front and rear subframes that absorb energy after impact. We will show our testing and provide Aptera’s safety rating upon passing a production vehicle through the full safety tests. 

Eco-friendly transportation that preserves our natural resources by reducing carbon and chemical emissions. Solar vehicles give people the ability to constantly recharge using the power from the sun without any requirement of a charging station, making the driver independent.

One of the key features setting Aptera apart from other electric vehicles is our unique combination of solar and electric power to get you where you need to go with less impact on the planet.

Aptera uses the Sun to enhance its range — charging up to 40 miles a day from the solar cells alone when parked outside; this is made possible by Aptera’s aerodynamic design – fundamentally solving significant energy loss from drag. In other words, Aptera only uses 1/3 of the energy of a typical EV, charges more than 3x as fast, and gets 3x more mileage per battery charge.

And for those who drive farther than the sun can take you, not to worry. You can plug in your Aptera to a standard 110V or 220V outlet and achieve 250, 400, 600, or 1,000 miles in range, depending on your battery pack size. Watch our video and learn more about Aptera – a True Zero-Emission Vehicle.

The average American drives 29 miles per day. Even though the longest range Aptera can drive for about 1,000 miles between charge, the reality is that most of our driving is 30 miles or less. For Aptera, 30 miles consumes about 3 kWh of electricity. Now, let’s say your commute is 15 miles each way, let’s assume it’s dark when you’re driving to and from work. While parked at the office on a sunny day, your Aptera could put back in about 4.4 kWh which is far more than what you’ll use that day. You’ll arrive home with more charge than when you left with. That’s how it works, it’s as simple as that.

You can plug Aptera in like any other electric vehicle — Aptera can be charged and travel 250, 400, 600, or 1,000 miles (depending on your battery pack size) by plugging in at home to a standard 110V or 220V outlet. The built-in solar power is a bonus.

We plan for Aptera to be compatible with Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 DC Fast Charge stations; and to ship the vehicle with a charging adapter so that you can charge it anywhere.

Our charging infrastructure is stellar. You will achieve up to 40 miles of range per day while outside in the sunlight, trickling down into your battery pack. From a 110V cord, like what you’d charge your cell phone on, you receive about 13 miles an hour, or about 150 miles of charge overnight. At roadside charging stations, you’d likely get about 100 miles in 10 minutes. Once we have final charging specifications, we will be able to provide you with exact charge times based on your battery pack size, home outlets, and amperage available, as well as any onboard chargers we might recommend.

There is a solar savings calculator on our website: https://aptera.us/vehicle/

This will show you if your daily driving and location are compatible with a “Never Charge” lifestyle or if you will have to charge a few times a year. It will also show you approximately how much Aptera will save you in cost compared to the vehicle you drive today.

Depending on where you live and how your vehicle is configured, some drivers can get up to 40 miles of range per day powered by the sun.  Our Co-CEO Steve Fambro explains the science behind this engineering innovation from the team at Aptera.

To create an amazing audio experience for your solar powered road trips, our enhanced audio package — with five channels of audio, comes included in every Launch Edition vehicle. This consists of two tweeters, two mid-range, and one subwoofer. The enhanced audio package brings great sound depth with an accurate and deep bass response. 

Most vehicles today waste more than 65% of their energy at highway speeds due to aerodynamic drag. Aptera’s unique body shape allows it to slip through the air using far less energy than any other vehicle on the road. We can burn 30% of the energy the average EV does to go the same distance. Aptera puts over 90% of its battery pack’s energy into propelling itself with regenerative braking to add range.

The vehicle is made of lightweight composites that are many times stronger than steel, allowing its unique body shape to slip through the air with an unheard-of drag coefficient (Cd) of .13.

Efficient transportation is crucial to managing our natural resources. With a focus on efficiency, Aptera makes better use of materials in construction and in their use. This saves resources we cannot afford to waste and lessens our overall impact on the planet and each other.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can optimize the design of parts for the most strength with the least amount of material and weight. In most parts, we can achieve a 30-50% weight saving over the same part cast as a solid piece.

We worked with Crank Software to get an intuitive and efficient user interface for our vehicles. Find out about our partnership in the video below.

350 V nominal.

We are looking into flat towing and will announce more information as we approach production. We hope to make a Tow package available at some point in the future. We envision Aptera could tow a lightweight trailer for camping, maybe even adding some extra solar capability. We aspire to provide our customers with the tools to move with what they need while maintaining our efficient design. 

Aptera uses 100 Watt Hours (Wh) per mile, a fraction of the energy larger EVs are using to go the same distance.

There will be a jack point to lift the vehicle for wheel/ tire repairs. The wheel covers can be removed without unusual tools or special skills in a couple of minutes. See for yourself at minute 1:37 in the video below:

Aptera is designed to carry a 500 lbs payload of passengers and cargo, or a max of 300lbs in the rear cargo (if you only have the driver).

Two ultra-sonic parking assist sensors will detect obstacles and protect the wheel pants from damage. This will allow the driver to adjust in tight places and provide enough support to maneuver comfortably.

Additionally, the front and rear bumpers on the wheel pants are of impact-resilient foam. The nose cone and tail cone are impact-resistant plastic similar to a bumper cover on a passenger car. The front nose cone, along with our subframe, is designed to crumple against our angled firewall and extend an impact sequence to the benefit of our passenger safety cell.

Yes, with our rear view cameras.

This may change slightly in production, but it is 6’2″ right now.

We are looking for at least 5″ on both the wheel covers and the belly of the vehicle, but the belly will likely be higher than the wheel covers. The ground clearance of the Aptera with the off-road package is at least 7″. Exact specs will be released on our website nearing the start of production.

Aptera is 87.6″ wide. We realize this may be wider than local regulations permit for some of our global customers and we are working through this process with industry experts to ensure we can make Aptera available in Europe and the UK.

Yes, for example, while parked at the office on a sunny day, your Aptera could charge about 4.4 kWh.

The vehicle will unlock by detecting you via your phone’s Bluetooth connection, our app, or with a physical RFID card. Once inside the vehicle, you can open the door through the center screen controls. Aptera will automatically lock when you exit by detecting that you are not inside. The interior cabin will include a mechanical release to open the door in case of any electrical malfunction. More information to come as we push the efficiency envelope on mobility.

We plan to equip the vehicle with seat heaters. We are designing this vehicle specifically for a lot of the cold countries that love electric vehicles. Our sandwich core composites body offers great insulation and a nice heater, it’s very comfortable driving in the winter.

Cooled seats are great for efficiency because if you cool the body, it’s actually more efficient. Unfortunately, cooled seats are pretty complex. We think those will eventually be an option. We’ll know closer to production whether or not seat cooling will be included. It’s a technical challenge for sure. 

Yes, we will have windshield wipers.

Aptera will use Andromeda’s Central Infotainment Display (CID) solution and UI/UX functionality within our production vehicles. Andromeda’s HMI utilizes Isochrones by overlaying a polygon that will show accurately reachable areas based on the vehicle’s instantaneous and potential energy capacity. Learn more here.

Aptera will have two USB-C charging ports.

While we aren’t planning on this for the initial production of vehicles, we have all of the capabilities for it! We will introduce extra features as “over-the-air” updates as we progress the technology to pair with our Aptera app— the idea is for your Aptera to be reusable and easily upgradeable.

For production, our complete HVAC system will include the following— windshield and side window defrost, left and right under IP footwell vents, left and right outer corners of IP vents, and the main screen vent system, which will be fully controllable in both temperature and velocity of the airflow. The center venting system was born of our design process and philosophy with roots in intelligent efficiency and radical simplicity in that we had two needs fulfilled by one solution.

We’ve gone through sun simulators, the steel ball drop, hail testing, environmental cycling, and UV exposure.

Aptera will utilize Eve Energy’s 21700 NMC 811 cylindrical cells in its vehicle’s structural battery packs. These lithium-ion structural battery packs will be produced in San Diego. You can read more by clicking through this link.

Imagine going to the pump and filling up 1.2 gallons into your vehicle and then traveling 400 miles. That’s what our 42kWh Launch Edition battery can do.

0-60 MPH in our All-Wheel Drive version clocks in as fast as 4 seconds and Front-Wheel Drive as fast as 6 seconds. Both versions will be RPM limited to 101 MPH.

With all-wheel-drive and vectorized torque control, Aptera handles beautifully in the snow and ice. Aptera will have a full climate control system capable down to -20 and up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Aptera will be equipped with defroster grids, and our sandwich core composite body offers great insulation and a nice heater, making it very comfortable to drive in the winter.

Additionally, according to our calculations, even the most dreary places would average about 8,000 miles of solar “free-charging” per year. In the winter they may not get a lot of sun, but in the summertime, these regions have even longer hours of sunlight. For most people in the world, 8,000 miles of free charging is a game-changer.

Here at Aptera, we’ve revolutionized every aspect of transportation, including repairs and customer service. Whether it’s you performing the repairs, or the auto shop down the street, the documentation provided will be clear and easy to understand. We believe anyone should be able to diagnose and repair their vehicle and will provide all the documentation to do so and make spare parts easy to acquire. Learn about our philosophy in our video.

Yes! Aptera will offer regenerative braking, which uses an electric vehicle’s motor as a generator to convert much of the kinetic energy lost when decelerating back into stored energy in the vehicle’s battery. Then, the next time the car accelerates, it uses much of the energy previously stored instead of tapping in further to its own energy reserves. Aptera will offer adjustable levels in 3 or 4 settings, from off to very heavy regen braking.

Aptera offers both front (2WD) and all-wheel (3WD) drive packages. Our first Launch Edition vehicles will be 3WD.

5” to the bottom of the wheel covers and 9” to the bottom of the belly of the Aptera.

We took our Alpha vehicle to the track and put it to the test with our engineers as we refined our designs moving into Beta. This video shows our team at the track doing preliminary analysis on acceleration, braking and obstacle testing.

Aptera will feature two cup holders located on the center console.

Yes.

In partnership with Elaphe, Aptera offers compact, high-torque in-wheel radial flux motors that allow for enhanced aerodynamics, lighter overall vehicle weight, and improved handling — resulting in better mileage and safety. You can select between either an all-wheel or front-wheel drivetrain.

Although our well-insulated body helps, energy consumption from the HVAC can have a significant impact. You could see 10 to 20% less range on really hot or cold days. We have a fan to extract the hot air from the cabin that uses solar energy to keep the interior cool. We will share more exact figures once we have undergone more testing.

To avoid the issue of eaten wire, we’re conceptualizing ways to use plastic without soy. We are particularly air-tight for our aerodynamics, so that helps. The suspension arms will be well protected and hidden in our production vehicle to guard against any damage or corrosion.

We are designing Aptera to require very little routine maintenance, but probably safety checks at 150k miles at least. There will be no fluids needed other than washer fluid in the first 100k miles of driving. More exact figures will be shared prior to launch. We are designing this vehicle to be much simpler than most and thus have easier service needs.

We are using a standard 16” tire size that you can get winter tires for anywhere.

Yes. The vehicle is charging while driving now. The charge rate is just less than the rate that it is consuming, hence, it’s not a perpetual motion machine.

Adding a third motor on the rear wheel allows for improved performance, handling, and traction. Those are the key value-adds for paying for the third motor. It is better for driving and handling in snowy, off-road, or icy conditions. The additional regenerative braking capability is a bonus with a third motor, but it is not the driving factor.

The system will adjust to the most efficient torque curves per motor, but we don’t think this will be user selectable.

The vehicle will be able to be put on jack stands using traditional equipment (jack stands and floor jack). Aptera will be capable for using two post lifts.

Aptera can be tied down securely using ratchet straps for any form of transport, such as in a trailer or for flatbed towing. If you’re stuck somewhere, and you can’t get out, or you need to be pulled onto a tow truck, there are recovery points for that. We will demonstrate this and provide specific design details on vehicle recovery as we get closer to production.

The interior cabin will include a mechanical release to open the door in case of any electrical malfunction or emergency.

Not to worry – Aptera will be able to go over speed bumps. Our wheels can take a pounding, and there is much less weight on them when compared to a typical EV. The wheel covers have EVA foam at the bottom, a high-energy absorbing and closed-cell foam in case of any impact shock. The vehicle’s 5″ ground clearance and good entry and exit angles on wheel covers will be able to handle speed bumps and potholes! The exact vehicle specifications will be shared nearing production once the design is locked down.