The future isn't EV cars, hydrogen, or even hyperloop. I was wrong. The future is Aptera Solar Powered Cars.

[Space Lynx]

Honestly, for 25 grand, I am considering saving up and buying this. No fuel cost for my commute = amazing, and on days when the sun doesn't shine enough, I can plug it in and charge it overnight I guess. If I get the 400 mile range though for only 29 grand... (1000 mile range is only 45 grand...) the amount of my commute in miles, and even cloudy days, won't matter so much, because I won't use that many miles before the next sunny days.
No more reliance on oil companies, no more reliance on geopolitical games, no more reliance on utilities companies... this is FREEEDOOM!!!! - HOW LONG HAVE I SOUGHT THEE???:

GO TO 1:15MINS IN!!! ^^^^

1000 MILE RANGE!!! THIS IS FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO MORE KNEELING BEFORE THE OVERLORDS!!!!!!!!!


I had it wrong all along, the future isn't traditional EV, hydrogen, or hyperloop. This is the future, it's not a joke anymore, they are already in production of beta models. My guess is officially launch will be pushed back to 2023 though.

Aptera Motors

Aptera is the world’s first Solar Electric Vehicle that requires no charging for most daily use - giving you the freedom to do more with less impact on the planet.

www.aptera.us

edit: its not in Alpha anymore as the first video shows, its in Beta now. and a lot has changed according to new videos from last week that I also linked above.




old links that are now retired and make no sense, only solar makes sense now:

Why did we abandon hydrogen cars so quickly?

The more I look at what Toyota has done (and is doing) with a hydrogen powered internal combustion engine even... I just don't get it. I know storage costs of hydrogen are expensive, but if it were scaled up, wouldn't the cost dramatically lower? The Boring Company could dig giant underground...

www.techpowerup.com

Ocean currents and hydropower, solving the worlds energy problems without fusion dreams?

So @R-T-B and I were having a discussion, it got me thinking about something since Wash State has hydro power, same with British Columbia, really benefits that region of the world immensely. If the ocean currents are predictable, and we already have the capability of laying wires entire ocean...

www.techpowerup.com

Cost effective transportation, how to live a better life with more money in your pocket, 8.1 kWh per 100 km EV car's. Let's discuss.

Sketching out some rough ideas... basically what gave me this idea was how hard it is to find decently priced transportation to get back and forth to work. How vulture like car salesman have been towards me, etc. I absolutely can't believe humanity has come to this. It's really sad and...

www.techpowerup.com

Seems to me, that Hyperloop is not only the future, it will benefit all of us and save us a lot of time.

Watch this video in full before commenting please. Keep in mind, even in the pandemic like now, hyperloop would still be better than all other modes of public transport (the pods are more sanitary since only small number of people for each one, versus air being exchanged on an entire train...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[lexluthermiester]

Interesting concept car. Lots of great ideas. Kinda ugly though. They need to make something a lot more stylish.

 

[Space Lynx]

Interesting concept car. Lots of great ideas. Kinda ugly though. They need to make something a lot more stylish.

They wouldn't be able to achieve 1000 mile range then, as the whole goal is the 0.13 coefficient against wind, less than a Tesla by a lot.

I like the looks of it (the silver only version looks like a dolphin kind of), I like that it has a built in tent/awning as well, this would be amazing to camp with and see a bit of the world in.

There are only about 5 states that require a motorcycle license to drive 3-wheel vehicles, but most people would be able to drive this with a regular driving license.

I think this is the future. It makes a lot of sense. Freedom from utility companies and gas station fill ups, and hydrogen logistics... 40 miles per day... lets say you only get 30 even if your car supports the full 40. I mean most people have a day or two off they aren't doing anything, so if you get the 600 or 1000 mile range vehicle, the days off will add up rather quick, might not ever have to plug it in, depending on your commute, time of year, etc. Amazing.

It's a shame Congress has not given this thing a tax incentive like it has for other EV cars, this one makes a lot of sense imo.

 

[Vayra86]

Honestly, for 25 grand, I am considering saving up and buying this. No fuel cost for my commute = amazing, and on days when the sun doesn't shine enough, I can plug it in and charge it overnight I guess. If I get the 400 mile range though for only 29 grand... (1000 mile range is only 45 grand...) the amount of my commute in miles, and even cloudy days, won't matter so much, because I won't use that many miles before the next sunny days.
No more reliance on oil companies, no more reliance on geopolitical games, no more reliance on utilities companies... this is FREEEDOOM!!!! - HOW LONG HAVE I SOUGHT THEE???:

GO TO 1:15MINS IN!!! ^^^^

1000 MILE RANGE!!! THIS IS FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO MORE KNEELING BEFORE THE OVERLORDS!!!!!!!!!


I had it wrong all along, the future isn't traditional EV, hydrogen, or hyperloop. This is the future, it's not a joke anymore, they are already in production of beta models. My guess is officially launch will be pushed back to 2023 though.

Aptera Motors

Aptera is the world’s first Solar Electric Vehicle that requires no charging for most daily use - giving you the freedom to do more with less impact on the planet.

www.aptera.us

edit: its not in Alpha anymore as the first video shows, its in Beta now. and a lot has changed according to new videos from last week that I also linked above.




old links that are now retired and make no sense, only solar makes sense now:

Why did we abandon hydrogen cars so quickly?

The more I look at what Toyota has done (and is doing) with a hydrogen powered internal combustion engine even... I just don't get it. I know storage costs of hydrogen are expensive, but if it were scaled up, wouldn't the cost dramatically lower? The Boring Company could dig giant underground...

www.techpowerup.com

Ocean currents and hydropower, solving the worlds energy problems without fusion dreams?

So @R-T-B and I were having a discussion, it got me thinking about something since Wash State has hydro power, same with British Columbia, really benefits that region of the world immensely. If the ocean currents are predictable, and we already have the capability of laying wires entire ocean...

www.techpowerup.com

Cost effective transportation, how to live a better life with more money in your pocket, 8.1 kWh per 100 km EV car's. Let's discuss.

Sketching out some rough ideas... basically what gave me this idea was how hard it is to find decently priced transportation to get back and forth to work. How vulture like car salesman have been towards me, etc. I absolutely can't believe humanity has come to this. It's really sad and...

www.techpowerup.com

Seems to me, that Hyperloop is not only the future, it will benefit all of us and save us a lot of time.

Watch this video in full before commenting please. Keep in mind, even in the pandemic like now, hyperloop would still be better than all other modes of public transport (the pods are more sanitary since only small number of people for each one, versus air being exchanged on an entire train...

www.techpowerup.com

Old news and you clearly found another clickbait source one per day keeps the doctor away?

World Solar Challenge - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Space Lynx]

Old news and you clearly found another clickbait source one per day keeps the doctor away?

World Solar Challenge - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

I disagree, this isn't about breaking records, this is a tangible product someone can buy at 25 grand that gives them freedom from utilities companies and gas companies, why you would want to degrade that boggles my mind. Also, why would I care about clickbait titles? I get no monetary gains from any of my topics. Even the $10 I won from @W1zzard for being very active I immediately donated/giveaway to someone else as soon as I won it. Not here for the money, here because I am sad the world won't change, as I often say, humans are capable of so much, yet so little...so what is my incentive for making clickbait titles as you are suggesting I am doing? This is freedom, all of our lives are tied to energy in one way or the other, and this is affordable and not hypothetical.

Sure it wouldn't work for cloudy parts of the world, but even large parts of USA that are cloudy still get quite a bit of sun, and in the off months a charger can be used (fyi it accepts every charger there is according to the FAQS page). That is impressive.

I would like to know what the warranty lifespan/charge cycle count is on the batteries though, and how much to replace them, etc.

 

[Vayra86]

I disagree, this isn't about breaking records, this is a tangible product someone can buy at 25 grand that gives them freedom from utilities companies and gas companies, why you would want to degrade that boggles my mind. Also, why would I care about clickbait titles? I get no monetary gains from any of my topics. Even the $10 I won from @W1zzard for being very active I immediately donated/giveaway to someone else as soon as I won it. Not here for the money, here because I am sad the world won't change, as I often say, humans are capable of so much, yet so little...so what is my incentive for making clickbait titles as you are suggesting I am doing? This is freedom, all of our lives are tied to energy in one way or the other, and this is affordable and not hypothetical.

Sure it wouldn't work for cloudy parts of the world, but even large parts of USA that are cloudy still get quite a bit of sun, and in the off months a charger can be used (fyi it accepts every charger there is according to the FAQS page). That is impressive.

I would like to know what the warranty lifespan/charge cycle count is on the batteries though, and how much to replace them, etc.

Tangible? 25K?

Reserve Aptera

Reserve Reserve Aptera |

aptera.us

You can pre order this. It does not exist yet. 25K gets you a 250 mile battery. GL on just solar with that. The 1000 mile battery wont work on just solar either. You will be using a charge point daily.

And thats the marketing story. I drive an EV. 420km (300mi?) rated is now 250km on winter tires. In bad weather comditions you can drop to 200KM of range. I need to charge daily. I also have 10 solar panels worth 3100kwh rated. On a sunny day those deliver about enough charge for one full 54KW battery. Price: 39K euro.

Other aspects: this Aptera thingy has no boot. You can transport yourself. Public transport does that too but doesnt cost 25K and can also go electric. Four bags of groceries? Thatll be fun in this 'car' It also means that the range is determined based on transporting minimal weight.

The real scenario is that you are paying 44900 bucks or more for 1000 mile range, no boot space and a very small range of use cases. And in practical use, it does not avoid fossil at all because charging still happens on a non green energy grid.

Stop running away with every marketing story you read, man

 

[Space Lynx]

Tangible? 25K?

Reserve Aptera

Reserve Reserve Aptera |

aptera.us

You can pre order this. It does not exist yet. 25K gets you a 250 mile battery. GL on just solar with that. The 1000 mile battery wont work on just solar either. You will be using a charge point daily.

And thats the marketing story. I drive an EV. 420km (300mi?) rated is now 250km on winter tires. In bad weather comditions you can drop to 200KM of range. I need to charge daily. I also have 10 solar panels worth 3100kwh rated. On a sunny day those deliver about enough charge for one full 54KW battery. Price: 39K euro.

Other aspects: this Aptera thingy has no boot. You can transport yourself. Public transport does that too but doesnt cost 25K and can also go electric. Four bags of groceries? Thatll be fun in this 'car' It also means that the range is determined based on transporting minimal weight.

The real scenario is that you are paying 44900 bucks or more for 1000 mile range, no boot space and a very small range of use cases. And in practical use, it does not avoid fossil at all because charging still happens on a non green energy grid.

Stop running away with every marketing story you read, man

there is a large space behind the two seats. plenty of room for camper cooler, groceries, what have you. not sure where you are getting that. plenty of room for me anyway. lets forget the solar even exists. 25k for a 250 mile range with a 0.13 coefficient (which means those miles will go further than a standard EV car due to less drag), still beats every single other EV on the market in price range. the Nissan Leaf is like 127 mile range at 29k...

solar depending how much you drive is still awesome benefit imo. at not much extra cost

also, if the entire grid collapses someday, which is not impossible, you could still chug along, but eh, that's not really the point here.

for your use case @Vayra86 this is probably not a good car, but for most people who have a small commute and live in sunny areas, 25k is hard to beat.

 

[lexluthermiester]

but for most people who have a small commute and live in sunny areas, 25k is hard to beat.

This. For many use case scenarios in many area's of the world, this kind of thing could work well. Where I live? Not going to work so well, we get WAY too much snow and cloudy days during the later half of autumn, winter and early spring.

 

[Space Lynx]

This. For many use case scenarios in many area's of the world, this kind of thing could work well. Where I live? Not going to work so well, we get WAY too much snow and cloudy days during the later half of autumn, winter and early spring.

I was about to type, "yeah and England and Ireland can also forget something like this" but then I just remembered that gas/diesel is much more expensive there than it is here, and this would still be the cheapest EV with that kind of range on the market. Hmm, not sure how well it's turn radius is though, it would need to be very agile for those small roads over there. If I had the money to by a Tesla Model 3 brand new or for same price get a 1000 mile range EV, forget the solar panels, and I lived in England/Ireland, I'd take the 1000 mile range any day. That's plenty to see large swaths of England/Ireland since they are so condensed/lot of charging stations popping up.

Apparently this will support Tesla Supercharger "hopefully" it says in FAQS page, I think they are just waiting for permission from Elon, he will probably say yes, who knows with Elon, just depends if he feels like laughing that day or not.

 

[lexluthermiester]

My problem is lithium based battery chemistry. I don't trust it. It's too dangerous for use in vehicles. It's dangerous enough for phones, tablets, laptops and other such portables. We need a breakthrough in battery chemistry...

 

[Vayra86]

there is a large space behind the two seats. plenty of room for camper cooler, groceries, what have you. not sure where you are getting that. plenty of room for me anyway. lets forget the solar even exists. 25k for a 250 mile range with a 0.13 coefficient (which means those miles will go further than a standard EV car due to less drag), still beats every single other EV on the market in price range. the Nissan Leaf is like 127 mile range at 29k...

solar depending how much you drive is still awesome benefit imo. at not much extra cost

also, if the entire grid collapses someday, which is not impossible, you could still chug along, but eh, that's not really the point here.

for your use case @Vayra86 this is probably not a good car, but for most people who have a small commute and live in sunny areas, 25k is hard to beat.

Thing is, so far we have seen that the low range cars are not here to stay and even 'small commute' struggles with the early EVs like the BMW i3 with about 300km WLTP range - they drop below 150Km in bad conditions which is usually saying 'recharge on the road for daily commute'. Saw a lot of those used for exactly the use case you describe. They had issues. Many drivers encountered problems in daily commute. Almost everywhere the trend is pushing range up or people wont feel comfy. Range anxiety is a thing.

The practical consideration is that you need quite a lot of 'spare' range to drive without those issues. Even sunny areas get windy, for example. Its clear this car is aimed at a use case you describe, but I think thats the use case where public transport can be and IS a whole lot more efficient and cheaper. If you leave the emotion of driving your own car behind, what is the gain here really? Because you are still going to have to resort to more expenses for longer range movement, too...

Also. 250 miles rated is not 'a better mile because of better drag coefficient' - those bonus points are already in the mile range measurement. Therefore you will have a much stronger adverse impact from adding weight, but also from weather conditions. The range relies on a much tighter set of ideal conditions. EVs are strange like that. Heavier EVs suffer less from adding weight because in a relative sense, you are adding less.

You're not any more independent from anything with a more efficient car Running on solar alone aint happening. I wont contest it can be competitive in the market, but there are a lot of caveats here, much like all types of EVs have their tradeoffs.

Turn radius and general road behavior of most EVs is stellar, weight can be placed much lower in the car and divided over all wheels.

Aptera claims that even with the most optimal setup (1K mile range, full solar package) and 'sun level 8' you already need the grid if you travel 35 miles per day. So yeah... gl with 250 miles...

 

[Deleted member 24505]

You are correct that this would be useless in UK/IRL. I have seen 1 tesla in my city, and pretty much only a few other EV's. Petrol is very expensive here compared to the USA, but our GOV is greedy and taxes the feck out of it.

I would love a full EV, but charging it is not green even though it does not in itself pollute, the power to charge it is.

 

[Space Lynx]

You are correct that this would be useless in UK/IRL. I have seen 1 tesla in my city, and pretty much only a few other EV's. Petrol is very expensive here compared to the USA, but our GOV is greedy and taxes the feck out of it.

I would love a full EV, but charging it is not green even though it does not in itself pollute, the power to charge it is.

as someone who walked on streets of UK in the past and had to smell ****** diesel fumes cause the cars are so damn close to the sidewalks, I absolutely prob damaged my health some from that experience. i could care less where the electricity comes from, but Europe and UK, especially in those medieval cities where everything is condensed need to be electric only imo for this reason alone. its just an unpleasant experience trying to enjoy your day and sightsee and have to smell some **** car, most you can't smell, but even then they are prob still damaging your health.

 

[Remeca]

there is a large space behind the two seats. plenty of room for camper cooler, groceries, what have you. not sure where you are getting that. plenty of room for me anyway. lets forget the solar even exists. 25k for a 250 mile range with a 0.13 coefficient (which means those miles will go further than a standard EV car due to less drag), still beats every single other EV on the market in price range. the Nissan Leaf is like 127 mile range at 29k...

solar depending how much you drive is still awesome benefit imo. at not much extra cost

also, if the entire grid collapses someday, which is not impossible, you could still chug along, but eh, that's not really the point here.

for your use case @Vayra86 this is probably not a good car, but for most people who have a small commute and live in sunny areas, 25k is hard to beat.

For a small commute, I recommend a bicycle.

 

[Space Lynx]

For a small commute, I recommend a bicycle.

I was thinking in small in terms of American cities. like 15 miles each way small. lol

and no ty in negative 6 degree weather which it was last week here.

 

[Divide Overflow]

They haven't had a lot of success delivering this in the past. I'll just drop this here.

 

[Shrek]

I'm all for electric vehicles and solar power, but sunlight is about 1 KW per square meter at best, so the solar cells on the car are not remotely enough; not even sure they are enough to run air-conditioning when the car is not running, perhaps enough to run a fan in the Summer.

That said, electric cars are the future.

 

[Space Lynx]

They haven't had a lot of success delivering this in the past. I'll just drop this here.

they discuss this with Jay Leno in the first video i linked in post one, that was due to the 2008 economic crisis. nice way to just post negativity without context though

I'm all for electric vehicles and solar power, but sunlight is about 1 KW per square meter at best, so the solar cells on the car are not remotely enough; not even sure they are enough to run air-conditioning when the car is not running, perhaps enough to run a fan in the Summer.

That said, electric cars are the future.

they can do up to 40 miles charging per day, prob more realistically 28 per day for those outside of california/nevada region etc

even at 28, that is most all anyone needs for a short commute, especially since those other miles will be gained back on days you don't really drive anywhere

 

[Vayra86]

They haven't had a lot of success delivering this in the past. I'll just drop this here.

Part of my earlier point. Making a good EV isn't easy and this has many traits of not being a good one. Will it find a purpose? Possibly.

We have a Dutch start up trying something similar.

Lightyear 0 - Wikipedia

nl.wikipedia.org

They're a lot closer to production of something realistic. But we can expect many of these concepts to pop up in the coming years.

 

[Space Lynx]

Part of my earlier point. Making a good EV isn't easy and this has many traits of not being a good one. Will it find a purpose? Possibly.

We have a Dutch start up trying something similar.

Lightyear 0 - Wikipedia

nl.wikipedia.org

They're a lot closer to production of something realistic. But we can expect many of these concepts to pop up in the coming years.

hey at least they are trying. all we do is sit on our asses and talk on tech forums.

 

[Remeca]

I was thinking in small in terms of American cities. like 15 miles each way small. lol

and no ty in negative 6 degree weather which it was last week here.

15 miles isn't untenable on a bike, even in sub freezing temperatures. If it is, add a battery and motor. Maybe it just isn't for you though. -6(F, C?) is a bit inconvenient, but how well do you think solar panels work in the winter? (Hint: not great.)

 

[Space Lynx]

15 miles isn't untenable on a bike, even in sub freezing temperatures. If it is, add a battery and motor. Maybe it just isn't for you though. -6(F, C?) is a bit inconvenient, but how well do you think solar panels work in the winter? (Hint: not great.)

like I said in the first post, during the two months out of 12 that is deep winter here... can plug it in...

 

[Shihab]

Is no one going to comment on how wide this thing is? Nearly half a meter wider than my Corolla! And that form factor looks like it would be a pain to handle.

It's an interesting concept, but I'd rather keep my PVs stationary on a roof top, plenty of space, plenty of storage capacity, plus you get to make your independence from big-oil more solid.

I'm all for electric vehicles and solar power, but sunlight is about 1 KW per square meter at best, so the cells on the car are not remotely enough; not even sure they are enough to run air-conditioning when the car is not running, perhaps enough to run a fan in the Summer.

The panels are rated for 700w peak. Could generate the necessary amount to drive the stated distance under very favourable conditions. Problem is, without actually seeing numbers from an independent third party, the power generation estimates and energy consumption/km figures are little more than marketing bs (unless you're on a low sodium diet).
Not saying that their claims are impossible, but I personally wouldn't bite into the hype just yet.

As for air conditioning: Do note that this is a battery-equipped machine that has a very small internal volume to cool. You don't need big panels to run an AC. Granted, doing so would cut down the range figures, but it would do so to any other type of vehicle. Energy-wise, the PV contribution to cost reduction holds either way.

 

[Remeca]

like I said in the first post, during the two months out of 12 that is deep winter here... can plug it in...

"Here" isn't everywhere. It's functionality just a stripped down electric car, with a solar panel. It won't be replacing anything anytime soon. Pre-ordering this is ridiculous.

 

[Space Lynx]

Is no one going to comment on how wide this thing is? Nearly half a meter wider than my Corolla! And that form factor looks like it would be a pain to handle.

It's an interesting concept, but I'd rather keep my PVs stationary on a roof top, plenty of space, plenty of storage capacity, plus you get to make your independence from big-oil more solid.



The panels are rated for 700w peak. Could generate the necessary amount to drive the stated distance under very favourable conditions. Problem is, without actually seeing numbers from an independent third party, the power generation estimates and energy consumption/km figures are little more than marketing bs (unless you're on a low sodium diet).
Not saying that their claims are impossible, but I personally wouldn't bite into the hype just yet.

As for air conditioning: Do note that this is a battery-equipped machine that has a very small internal volume to cool. You don't need big panels to run an AC. Granted, doing so would cut down the range figures, but it would do so to any other type of vehicle. Energy-wise, the PV contribution to cost reduction holds either way.

I do agree, I'd like to see numbers from a third party reviewer, etc.

I disagree however on the size, looks about normal to me, based on the cars parked next to it.

"Here" isn't everywhere. It's functionality just a stripped down electric car, with a solar panel. It won't be replacing anything anytime soon. Pre-ordering this is ridiculous.

its good for a lot of peoples use contexts, just not yours.