2006-2011; Founding and liquidation

Aptera was founded as Accelerated Composites in 2006 by Steve Fambro, who formerly worked at Illumina. Fambro hired Chris Anthony to be the COO shortly after founding the company.^[1] The company name was later changed to Aptera Motors, making reference to the Greek word meaning "wingless flight."^[2] In 2006, the company announced it had a three-wheeled car design, classified as a motorcycle, that would get an estimated 330 miles per US gallon (0.71 L/100 km) at 65 mph (105 km/h).^[1]

In 2008, Aptera Motors hired several industry veterans to oversee engineering and production as well as marketing, and raised $24 million from Google and Idealab. It also announced it would start to sell its car by the end of that year^[3] and received $500 deposits from approximately 4,000 people for the vehicles.^[4] Near the end of 2008, it hired Paul Wilbur as CEO and announced that the launch of the vehicle would be delayed until 2009.^[3] By that time, it was calling the "typ-1" the "2e".^[3] Founders Fambro and Anthony were "ousted" from the company the same year, remaining on the board of directors but no longer being employed by the company.^[5]

In March 2009, the U.S. government denied loans to Aptera Motors under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program due to loans being limited to four-wheeled-vehicle research and production.^[6] After successfully lobbying to change the regulations,^[7] the company reapplied for a $184 million loan in October 2009.^[8][9]

The automotive X-prize competition was held in 2010 and Aptera's car entered but didn't finish the 50-lap trial, as its car overheated after 30 laps.^[10]

On August 12, 2011, Aptera Motors started to return deposits from customers.^[11] and in December 2011, it announced that it was going out of business because it was running out of money; it said that the Department of Energy had offered it a $150 million low interest loan conditioned on the company raising the same amount from the private sector, but the company was not able to raise the matching funds. A New York Times reporter contacted the DoE, which said that it had not committed to loaning the company any money.^[12] By that time, the company had abandoned the three-wheeled model and was working on a mid-sized four-wheeled four-door sedan.^[12] Also by the time, 60,000 people had expressed interest to the company in buying a 2e, and 2,000 of them had paid a $500 deposit.^[13]

The company voluntarily liquidated in 2011.^[14]

2019-present; Relaunch as Aptera Motors Corp.

In 2019, the company, Aptera Motors, was re-formed by the original founders, Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro, as Aptera Motors Corp.^[15] It used a crowdfunding campaign to restart development of what aims to be the most efficient road vehicle in production.^[15]

The original Aptera Motors' design was a three-wheeled two-seat vehicle named the Aptera 2 Series. The marketed fuel efficiency of 300 mpg_‑US (0.78 L/100 km), when plugged in every 120 mi (190 km), would have made it one of the most fuel-efficient passenger vehicles in the world.^[16]

As of 2019, the Aptera had been redesigned to be a pure battery-powered electric vehicle (BEV) using under 100Wh per mile on the EPA test cycle. The company claims the vehicle will get a predicted EPA test-cycle range of up to 1,000 mi (1,600 km), with solar panels that could add up to 40 miles of range per day.^[17] This would make the Aptera the most efficient and the longest-range motor vehicle ever designed for mass production.^[15]

Within eight days, they received deposits for over 3,000 Aptera vehicles, valued at over $100,000,000.^[18]

In 2021 the company built three more engineering prototypes, revised the Aptera design to give it more interior room and an improved suspension, and raised over $39 million in funding.^[19] They also acquired three buildings in Carlsbad, California, with a combined space of over 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m²).^[20]

A month later in January 2022, the San Diego Business Journal reported^[21] their reservations had grown to over 16,000, their employees had doubled to 60, and they were looking to hire 470 more by the end of the year. In May 2022, Aptera Motors released their 2021 annual report. In it, they stated that have 103 full- and part-time employees and over 18,000 reservations for their solar electric vehicle.^[22]

In May 2023, Aptera Motors' released their 2022 Annual Report. It stated that the company then had 55 full-time employees. Also as of the end of 2022 they reported they had $39.9 million in total assets and an operating loss of $61.5 million.^[23]

Aptera Solar Electric Vehicle

As of 2019, the first planned production Aptera is a two-seat, three-wheeled passenger battery electric vehicle (BEV). Its design included two 50 KW wheel hub motors with a claimed EPA-test-cycle estimated range of over 1,000 mi (1,600 km), from a 100 kWh battery pack.

View of the solar panels throughout the vehicle

This range was estimated using computer models based on the Aptera's low estimated weight and the calculated aerodynamic drag based on its shape. The resulting vehicle was estimated (by the company) to require about 100 Wh of energy per mile,^[17][24] making the two seater 2.5 times as energy efficient as the five seat Tesla Model 3.^[25][26]

Embedded solar panels were designed to contribute up to an estimated additional 40 mi (64 km) per day from sunlight under optimal conditions.^[26][27] Since most American drivers drive less than 30 miles (48 km) per day,^[28] many drivers would seldom or never need to charge. The company's website featured a calculator to estimate how often their owners would need to charge an Aptera, based on where they live and how much they drive.

Multiple solar panel, motor, and battery configurations were planned, with estimated ranges from 250 to 1,000 mi (400 to 1,610 km), and initial estimated prices from $25,900 to over $47,000.^[29][30]

Initial design & rendering

Aptera's introductory press release stated their design would achieve 330 mpg, and included computer renderings of the proposed vehicle. The body shape was initially estimated to have a drag coefficient of Cd=0.055 to 0.06, and would have sported a 12 horsepower (9 kW) diesel engine and a 24 horsepower (18 kW) permanent magnet DC motor. The design also called for a CVT and ultracapacitors, and sell for under US$20,000.^[31]

Aptera Typ-1 / Aptera Mk-1

Aptera Typ-1

In September 2007, the Aptera Motors website was updated with information on the new Aptera design (dubbed the Aptera Typ-1), and the Mk-1 pre-production prototype was unveiled. The Mk-0 prototype was redesigned by Jason Hill, who worked on the Smart Fortwo and Porsche Carrera GT and engineered by Nathan Armstrong,^[32] with a finished interior and new body styling. At this time, Aptera Motors started to take reservations from residents of California for its pilot models – then called the Typ-1e and Typ-1h.^[33]

Aptera 2 Series

Aptera 4-door

By the time of the original company's liquidation in 2011, the company had abandoned development of the Aptera 2e and had begun design of a 5-passenger, 4-wheeled EV sedan with a lightweight composite body and a projected 130-mile range. No body and only a few test mules for the car were built.^[12]