[Gershom]

I invested a few weeks ago and my investment shows on the leader board (yeah!). However, my earlier investments are not added. Anyone down how this works? FYI: my earlier investments are listed in Cumpertershare, my recent one in the Issuance portal, and all are visible in my Aptera investment summary. Am I missing something? I emailed aptera, but I keep reading that they are a bit slow to respond.

[Gershom]

Wow, this is seriously impressive. The solar on gamma seemed the least developed part of the vehicle, but now this. Developing suspension for Aptera, while unique and different from other applications, always was in the realm of real possibilities. But the solar application, on which Aptera has been staking so much of their claims, was in the realm of possible realities. They have accomplished something utterly new.

They have an separate facility for production, as they do not outsource these. They have developed testing rigs, testing protocols, and production machines. Just designing a machine and developing protocols for hail testing alone would have been a serious challenge for any company. And they have solved dozens of these issues, pretty much from scratch. I am seriously impressed. And this brings production so much closer!

On a different note: we know they are lining up suppliers for many components (batteries, for example). But these solar panels are scheduled to be produced by in house. With patents pending (I recall hearing about that), and if Aptera is successful out in the wild, Aptera could also become a supplier of automotive grade solar panels, a potential source of significant revenue.

[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, 8 months ago by  Rob Spruijt.

[Gershom]

Lots of interesting points in the video. I lean towards the 400-600 miles, and the only benefit of a larger pack would be if I can use it for V2H. Which is not currently an option, it seems.

[Gershom]

I am mostly excited about this next design phase, with a wait-and-see feel towards the yoke. I am a bit surprised that the bar across the window is still as big and fat as before; I had somehow expected that the final design would minimize the visibility of the bar and maximize the view for the driver. Does it serve a structural purpose? For the lucky few who had a test drive: did you notice it? Was it obstructive?

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by  Rob Spruijt.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by  Rob Spruijt.

[Gershom]

I’m very pleased with the changes. The overall feel of the vehicle is slightly more slick and assertive, and I think that will give people more confidence in Aptera. I have always liked the unusual and playful design. The very first Aptera (many years ago) had the + and – sign pedals and I am so very stroked that is back. Others have already commented on the details. I assume that the center headlight will be clearly augmented with the ‘smile’ across the with of the cockpit as well as lights on the wheels; we don’t want oncoming traffic to underestimate the size of the vehicle.

Curious to see how the side cameras will be integrated with screens. I love the clean and clear look of the interior. None of that leather 1990’s couch look. Somehow it falls neither for the childish playful look, nor the sports car look, nor the fussy too-many-accessories feel. This is what the future looks like, and I think Jason is a genius. (Full disclosure: I’m not in automotive design but I work at the design school where Jason got his degree).

[Gershom]

The ArtCenter car show: alma mater of Jason, and the best connection to tomorrow’s car designers. I can’t wait to drive my own Aptera on campus there!

[Gershom]

They demonstrated over the weekend that the doors and hatch can be opened by just knocking on it. Presumably this requires you to have a fob/phone app nearby. There will almost certainly not be a separate key.