There’s something that people really fail to grasp with solar, and that’s the fact there is bugger all energy in the sun, and you need a huge surface area to get any meaningful energy.
A home solar array often takes up a significant chunk of the roof area, and the amount of surface area a car typically has means that even perfectly efficient solar panels wouldn’t collect enough energy to significantly contribute to the vehicle’s range.
There’s a good reason why vehicle manufacturers don’t bother adding them.
Their tech isn’t just the solar, they’ve optimized the car solely for efficiency. They claim their car can get 10 mi/kwh, so with 700W of solar panels they can get up to 40 miles of charge per day with just the solar. By contrast, the solar panels that are available on the new Prius get 4 miles of charge per day.
Now that their production-intent vehicles are just starting to be built up, I’m eagerly awaiting their actual test data that hopefully verifies their claims on efficiency, range, crash safety, etc. but we’ll see 🤞 I really hope they succeed.
Yes, the aerodynamics + solar panels is what makes this vehicle enticing, not just the solar panels alone.
There is good amount of energy in the sunshine. The output of solar arrays struggle to make big power out of small surface areas because we haven’t figured out how to get more than 20% of the power that hits the panel. If they do get 20% or more, it’s been with very expensive and fragile panels.
Been following this company’s development for over a decade now. I really want them to succeed but I have major doubts.
It’s good to see that Aptera is still a possibility!
For real. I was so hopeful for the Type-1 and would’ve reserved one if I had the money.
A few things the cynics are missing.
- The engineers who are designing this car don’t have the political power to push for better mass transit.
- Even in ideal circumstances, there will still be a need for personal transport vehicles and infrastructure. Small cars will still be needed.
- Aptera has 31 employees as of 2023. If they’re working overtime, it’s because they’re letting the company do it. Maintaining good moral is way more important in small companies.
I’m excited to see them succeed. I love it when stuff is designed with function over form, and made practically. I’m a tall person, this is the only small electric vehicle I feel I could actually fit in
A solar powered car that topped at 70mph would be ideal,
But goddamn, could you imagine just having one that topped at 30 MPh in a city? Infinite travel!
If you can park on top of a parking garage, or in a spot on ground level where sunshine is not too much blocked by the surrounding buildings, you could surely commute on sunshine. Home parking barely matters for day shift workers in this scenario.
We have that already; it’s called a bicycle.
Bummer. I want to give them my money, but they’re not accepting new investments right now.
Lots of people here criticizing Aptera who clearly haven’t researched the company or the tech.
Good, now keep the momentum up, Aptera. You’re so close to the reality.
The future of transportation everybody: a car.
The Aptera has been promised for over a decade now. I’m somehow amazed they are still trying.
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Just make sure you are under 100 lbs and have no baggage.
