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Aptera solar assisted car - 20 year update

Accepted submission by at 2025-04-10 01:00:59 from the maybe dept.
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Some may remember the initial press on the Aptera streamlined solar-assisted BEV...that was 2005. For some reason, looking at the aircraft-like shape again reminded me of the Buffalo Springfield / Neil Young song, "If flying on the ground is wrong..."

After one bankruptcy, resurrection and continued development, the company is still going. Here's a recent release including video of a road trip, which claimed about 20 miles of solar charging during the part-cloudy day, https://www.automotivetestingtechnologyinternational.com/news/prototypes/apteras-test-vehicle-completes-solar-supported-road-trip.html [automotivetestingtechnologyinternational.com]
No obvious drama in driving it, but it was all highway and rural 2 lane. No city traffic.

It's exactly the sort of thing I'd like, but the company history is pretty sketchy. I'm typically not an early adopter and looking from here I doubt that the company will ever be well enough established to risk buying one.

Overview of the company here, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aptera_Motors [wikipedia.org]


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