Aptera Launch Edition Has Everything Set for Production Start Except for $50 Million

According to what Chris Anthony shared on WeFunder, Aptera would have two Paradigm vehicles – both powered solely by their front wheels. The Paradigm Edition would have only 220 units with a 400-mile range and Enhanced Audio for $29,900. The Paradigm + cars would improve range to 1,000 miles, get Upgraded Audio, and be limited to 110 vehicles costing $44,900 a pop. That changed.

Aptera revealed the Launch Edition on a live webinar broadcast on January 20. With it, the company disclosed the definitive measures for the trike. The Aptera will be 177 inches (4.50 meters) long, 87.6 in (2.23 m) wide, 56 in (1.42 m) tall, and will have a 5.24-in (13.3-centimeter) ground clearance.

The AWD vehicles will come exclusively with Luna (silver) wrapping – no Aptera will be painted, which makes sense in a vehicle whose body is made of composite material and will never face rust issues. A 42-kWh battery pack will provide 400 miles of range, and the solar trike will also have Enhanced Audio. It comprises five channels of audio, two tweeter, two mid-ranges, and one subwoofer. That makes the Launch Edition pretty similar to the Paradigm Edition. The difference is that it will be produced in 5,000 units or even more, depending on demand.

Any Aptera customer or investor who ordered a Paradigm may feel frustrated not to have something that was supposed to be pretty exclusive – collector goods right from the start. When asked about that, Chris Anthony promised special deliveries for these early Aptera fans. However, the CEO did not elaborate on what that meant.

The change of plans seems to be motivated by input from people like Sandy Munro and other consultants who are helping Aptera take off. Anthony said the company opted to get things going with a single configuration to make things simpler right at the beginning. It makes sense, but Paradigm reservation holders may need more attention.

Curiously, no Aptera will come with fast charging, only level-2 charging. The 6.6-kW onboard charger delivers 57 miles of range per hour at 220V, while that drops to 13 miles at 110V during the same time span. The 400 miles of range would be recovered in a bit more than 7 hours at 220V and close to 31 hours at 110V.

With that, Aptera buyers will have to be very careful when selecting the best battery pack for their needs. The maximum range the trikes have is pretty much what they will manage to drive each day, even on road trips. Those willing to go more than 400 miles (644 kilometers) on a single day will have to wait for the 600-mile (966-km) and 1,000-mile (1,609-km) options. They will be the last ones to be delivered: the 250-mile option – with a 25-kWh battery pack – will be the first new variant after regular 400-mile trikes reach their owners.

Using Tesla’s charging standard makes no difference for the trike regarding Supercharging stations: it can’t use them anyway. That would require much more sophisticated thermal management than the production vehicle will have, which would raise complexity and make the solar trikes more expensive. Speaking of price, Aptera will only talk about that when everything is ready for the start of production (SOP). Anthony said everything is more expensive now than when the company decided to resurrect.

For that to happen, Aptera still needs $50 million. The company’s executives will hold a webinar for investors on January 27 to explain their strategies to get there, but they involve crowdsourcing, institutional financing, and government loans and grants. Only after Aptera has this money will it manage to buy all the machines it needs to make the trikes. More precisely, it will take nine months after that money is raised for the equipment to be in place and assembly to begin. It does not surprise us that Aptera is talking about 2024 as its SOP.

A good way for Aptera to raise that money quickly would be to make an IPO, but the company probably prefers to start deliveries before going public to have better results. Aptera wants to have eight assembly plants by 2028, something in which selling company shares may help to speed up. According to Anthony, Steve Fambro, and Jason Hill, the trike is ready, even if it can accept minor changes.

Getting rid of the steering yoke would also be pretty welcome: Tesla did it recently, and Aptera could avoid making the mistake of adopting it before it even starts. The executives said the solar cells in the Aptera’s body have a 10-year lifespan. That shows owners will have to replace them after that time. Hopefully, the company has already thought about that need. If it didn’t, it should consider it before the vehicle hits production lines. At this point, what really needs to be charged is the company’s bank account.