Aptera Motors
The world's first Never Charge electric vehicle!
Chris Anthony
Published on Oct 10, 2019
Grid Independence is here! Never touch a charge cord again with Aptera's new on-vehicle solar package. It comes standard on every Aptera because it is simply the most efficient way to power your vehicle.
Our Never Charge system can provide over 40 miles a day and over 11,000 miles per year of plug free driving. This is enough power to meet the needs of most drivers and makes this truly the first grid-independent electric vehicle option in the world. This announcement comes after we've filed three patents on this technology and field-tested it for over 1,000 hours to validate its performance.
Have a look at the press release here: Never Charge PR
There is also a solar calculator on our website: www.Aptera.us 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.
And a 360-degree view in this video:
Dr. Johan Nowack
Oct 10, 2019
Go kick Tesla’s ass !!
Thanks for your support and investment!
Thanks for the updates. Great job. 👍
Thanks for your support and investment!
This is a game changer in the industry. Good job guys.
Thanks for your support and investment!
love it, hope i profit enough off my investment to buy one outright.
Thanks for your support and investment!
💥Top Contributor
This investor has been frequently Upvoted for their diligent questions
Love it!
Thanks for your support and investment!
I love this idea, and you say you've done testing, but I think it would be nice to see some of that testing.Additionally, as many have mentioned, this may not be ready for prime time once the rest of the vehicle is ready. And even if it is, you'd need to take into consideration vehicle temperature if it is always parked in the sun. Ouchy.Perhaps there is a way to use the solar to keep the interior cool? Or couple these with a dynamic system for the windows that would make them reflect infrared? Also, aren't there now some transparent solar panels? Might that not counter some of the issues with retaining heat?Finally, if you're developing this, you could follow Tesla's lead and use the same technology to power an Aptera branded home solar system designed specifically to charge the vehicle at home. The benefit there being that you can count on the location being in the sun.
Thanks Eliot! I'll answer your questions/address your points in order: I think it would be nice to see some of that testing. -- We have over 1,000 hours on a representative solar system set up just as it would be on the vehicle. With all the same angles of the panels along with the spacing and roof structure to get accurate shadows. This has allowed us to gather a great data set that we can then adjust with NREL(National Renewable Energy Lab) data to give you an accurate picture of how this system would perform around the globe. You can see this data and the calculator we've made at Aptera.us (scroll down a bit to the solar section). Basically, the solar area is over 3 square meters giving you a max panel wattage of about 700. That can give you a max yield of around 4.4KWh a day, in places like Los Angeles, which is 44 miles of range per day. Additionally, as many have mentioned, this may not be ready for prime time once the rest of the vehicle is ready. And even if it is, you'd need to take into consideration vehicle temperature if it is always parked in the sun. Ouchy. -- Luckily with our sandwich core composite construction we have VERY good insulation compared to steel cars. And part of the solar energy will always go to a fan system to keep the interior close to the outside temp. This decreases your AC energy use when you get back into the vehicle as you never have to cool down a HOT Aptera like you would with a normal car.Perhaps there is a way to use the solar to keep the interior cool? Or couple these with a dynamic system for the windows that would make them reflect infrared? -- A yes, we have always had a solar system on the Aptera and it has always run the fans to keep the vehicle cool on hotter days. We will also use Low-E glass to stop as much heat as we can from accumulating. Also, aren't there now some transparent solar panels? Might that not counter some of the issues with retaining heat? -- There are but they are not efficient enough for our needs. Typically they are less than half the efficiency of what we will use. Finally, if you're developing this, you could follow Tesla's lead and use the same technology to power an Aptera branded home solar system designed specifically to charge the vehicle at home. The benefit there being that you can count on the location being in the sun. --We would LOVE it if other EV companies would jump into V2G technologies. It is really the best way to fully take advantage of all the battery packs now sitting around houses in the US. But we don't see that happening any time soon. Our V2G will be a basic tie into your you existing homes solar and energy storage system. Giving you more back up energy and more solar yield if you are parked at home and the sun is out.---Thanks for the questions, and support, and investment!
love the idea. But I've worked at a lot of startups, and every added feature is an obstacle to shipping. Do i need this if the car has 500+ mile range? No, I don't think so. If I'm going 500 miles I'll probably stop for an hour at a charger. Should this be on the roadmap for a later model? Absolutely, this is fantastic! (Just not as fantastic as shipping your first car)
We hear you Michael! Steve, Michael, and I(the founders) have all seen feature creep make life difficult for start-ups. But this solar feature is something we've been developing since the early days of Aptera and it is finally a meaningful addition to our efficiency story with advances over the last few years. Luckily the panels are very modular and can be developed outside of "vehicle development" and added on when they are ready. Meaning it won't slow anything down if there is a delay with panel quality or cost. And we will do a survey of all of our investors to determine the exact model mix we need initially to meet the needs of our customers. We think the most popular version will probably be in the middle range of 500 or 600 miles range but you, and others, will help us make that decision in a few months. Thanks for the feedback, the support, and your investment!
That is what sustainable transportation should be! Great feature! Would work for me perfectly.
We agree! Thank you for your support and investment!
Great concept! Living in So California with a 6-mile commute, I'm sure this is a strong option for me!
Thank you for your support and investment! That's perfect! You'll have plenty of power left over to power your home. Or you could delete the rear hatch and still get over 20 miles a day of charge on sunny days ;)
Awesome. I can’t wait!
Thank you for your support and investment! I hope to see you back down in San Diego sometime! We trust you to drive anything you want ;)
