As we are moving into the 3rd quarter of 2021, is the manufacturing schedule still on line for the end of this year? Is the manufacturing facility coming online and are workers being trained? This platform has been alpha, beta, and gamma tested in no-end of configurations for over 15 years. It was first put forth as
a motorcycle platform, then complicated to the point of impracticality. Yet, no one, to date has actually manufactured one for sale to the public. There really are enough research platforms out there, and it can be done cheaper and better on computer. It's time to actually build a few and let the customers help refine future production. Don't worry if you can't build a million the first year. A few actually on the road will get the ball rolling, if is is intended to be.
@Kerbe #12705 Yes, life is inherently unsafe. Especially so if you jury-rig things* such as making insecure inverter connections or using too thin an extension cord for it's length & load. It's much easier for lawyers to just say "don't use one". Yet here I am after 5.5 years using a heavy duty one to safely charge my car, with many others reporting the same.
Line 4 of Aptera FAQ Sheet mentions a 120V 1.5kW utility inverter option. So you'd be able to charge another EV by plugging in a standard L1 cord (or at least a 10A one). The inverter may be a separate unit, just like the after-market ones people are safely using now, but if it's built into the onboard charger that would likely qualify it as a "bidirectional inverter".
* "definition is the same" ("Jury-rigged" vs. "Jerry-rigged" - Dictionary.com)
@Kerbe #12705 Current BEV owners carefully connecting a high-quality purpose-built item & using a heavy-duty extension cord isn't exactly what I'd call "jury-rigged" or unsafe.
Either way, what I meant was that since that does work fine for emergency V2H, simply including that from the factory would be even better than that, without "requiring" a bi-directional inverter, unless the latter is somehow even easer/cheaper/lighter...
The inverter that Aptera already mentioned is sufficient to charge another EV.
That's great if we can dump the giant CHAdeMO plug which has to be in ADDITION to the J1772!
Saying that V2H "requires" a bi-directional charger might be a bit of an overstatement, at least for emergency-only V2H, where BEV owners have said it's adequate with just a plain pure-sine inverter to run an extension cord inside with a power-strip on the end.
@Kerbe #12705 I really don't like CHAdeMO either but I mentioned it because elsewhere on this forum others have said it's preferable for V2X. "Aptera will also be compatible with CCS, J1772, Level 2 and CHAdeMO" (line 7 of their FAQ spreadsheet)
"The first model of the 2 Series slated for production was the Aptera 2e (formerly Typ-1e), a battery electric vehicle[3] announced in late 2008.[4" a direct quote from wiki, So like Harley and Davidson observed, theirs wouldn't be the first but they hoped it would be better. I have worked for a major American auto maker that is no longer in existence. You really Can think yourself into the ground. Get a product to the market before you try to make it everything to everyone. If only to fine out if there is a market.
@OceanDragon While some people think it would be NICE to have an agreement with Tesla on charging, it is by no means necessary, & therefore should not delay production at all. Plain old J1772 like every other EV, & fast charging with CCS (or CHAdeMO). No need for Tesla at all.
They offered a hybrid and an all electric, but electric technology has vastly improved since then. Now no reason to offer hybrid at all.
The small management and engineering staff have done an EXCEPTIONAL job with the Aptera and on a shoe string budget. I for one do not want a rush job on production release. I want the "Right" amount of time taken to fully test and qualify the vehicle as well as insure it passes all of the government requirements. To want less is irresponsible
When I heard Elon admit he underestimated the time/work needed to go from prototype to production; it is 100-200 times harder, I knew Aptera would not be out until 2022 or 2023. A paradigm shift of the century? I've been waiting 50 years.
I get the impression that Aptera's composite construction will be much quicker from prototypes to production, since it's production construction will be the same as the prototypes, unlike steel-bodied cars.
Do you know what you are talking about? I don't think so. Nobody has been working on this vehicle nonstop for 15 years. It was in the hands of the Chinese for several years. Just recently it has been reacquired and development restarted. I believe the original was an ICE engine. This is electric. I hope others who are more familiar with the details will chime in.
They at Aptera are doing an absolutely fantastic job of redesigning this vehicle and bringing it to market. The Elio vehicle required hundreds of millions of dollars before they could produce one single vehicle. The Aptera is being brought to market for a fraction of the money.
I have experience in developmental work of new systems, and there are endless problems. They are doing a great job of developing this vehicle and bringing it to market !!!
In a recent interview they said the goal is to have production-intent vehicles by the end of the year. Which implies no deliveries to customers till next year.
They also made it clear that, while they had production-intent vehicles 10 years ago, the new Aptera is a completely new design and still in beta testing phase. Personally I've always though that the goal of delivering to customers in 2021 was overly ambitious to the point of being reckless, considering they didn't even have a functional prototype until late 2020. Production vehicles need a *lot* of time to set up for production and for testing.