The California based company Aptera has unveiled the worlds first “never charge” solar electric vehicle. The company was first founded in 2005 but had a bit of a tough start. The firm ran out of money in 2011 and unfortunately closed its doors, in 2013 Jay Leno hosted Aptera on his show called “Jay Leno’s Garage” which brought thousands of orders for the three wheeled car. Many people are wondering if Aptera stocks are available, the company has not gone public yet. So far the company has crowd funded $1 million and privately raised $3.4 million.
The electric wheel design is a three wheeled car and has a unique body shape that looks like a unusual teardrop. The solar panels on the roof are designed to absorb enough sunlight to travel around 40 miles per day and around 11,000 miles each year. Aptera has two wheels in the front and one in the back. It is designed with futuristic styled structure and has lightweight materials to provide low-dray aerodynamics and cooling which helps improve its range.
The vehicle comes equipped with a battery pack that provides 1,000 miles of range. It also has liquid cooled electric meters that allow the vehicle to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of 110mph. There is a 110v outlet that allows manual charging which can be plugged into a standard wall socket and this can provide 150 miles of range from a full overnight charge. The car has built in solar panels which will absorb the suns power and then will directly fill up the battery pack, the solar panels on the roof are never charge solar panels. Customers can spend extra money for a solar panel hood or a solar panel rear hatch to absorb even more of the suns power. The company website has a tool to calculate how often you’ll have to electrically charge your Aptera based on what sun zone you live in and how many miles you drive per day.
On the 4th December, 2020 Aptera was available for pre orders with the starting price of $25,900 and it goes up to $46,900 for a four wheel drive. 330 of the three wheelers were available to order for its first batch with deliveries set to begin in 2021. The 330 vehicles sold out in 24 hours, customers still can order a custom Aptera which can be made to drive ranges of 259, 400, 600 or 1,000 miles on a full charge.
Co-Founder Chris Anthony said: “With Aptera’s never charge technology, you are driven by the power of sun. Our built in solar array keeps your battery pack topped off and anywhere you want to go, you just go. If you do need power, the vehicle can be charged by a standard 110-volt outlet.”
Aptera’s Co-Founder Steve Fanbro, told the Independent: “40 miles doesn’t sound like a lot but its equivalent of parking your car and having it magically fill up with two gallons of gas overnight.”
