I just read a theory about why Elon made the offer of opening up the Supercharger network to other makers. The Biden administration wants to spend $15B on charging infrastructure. As long as the Supercharger network is a private network Tesla won't get a penny of that money but if they serve other brands they would qualify. Adding CCS plugs, credit card readers, screens would completely destroy the Supercharger experience not to mention that adding load in the places where demand is already extremely high, I'm looking at you California, would be most unwelcome to Tesla owners. However if Tesla licenses their connector and charging software to Aptera and gives them access to the Supercharger network they've satisfied the requirement that they aren't exclusive. Aptera can't produce enough vehicles to put a strain on the Supercharger network, if they build 10,000 in their first year of production they'll be doing great. Aptera, unlike the legacy auto makers, want's to use the Tesla connector, it would be a huge win for them. Even if there is a substantial license fee the benefit of getting access to the only network that has nationwide coverage would increase their appeal immensely. But if this theory is correct there might not be a big license fee, the money will come out of the taxpayers pocket not Aptera's.
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Personally, for a large portion of the buyers like me, if they put a 6.6kw L2 charger on it, I'll be happy as with my TOU rates, I could fill it up with 4 cents kw power. I've not heard of any concern with this level of level 1 or 2 charging :)
If on a trip, I'd probably opt for overnight L2 charging if it was bundled with a motel room rather than a quick charge session. Fast charging would only come into play for me if I stay with the 400 mile battery and want to cover 500 miles in a day's drive. In any FC situation, ten or fifteen minutes would add plenty of range in that scenario and I don't think would heat things up too much.
For those living in situations where they're using 20 more miles than they get from solar - possibly because of the season - I suspect these folks will hit the fast chargers every week or so for a 200 mile buffer, which they can do on the Aptera in probably less than 15 minutes. Or, on that weekend jaunt to some fun place where there are Tesla chargers, they'll fill up there and use the balance as their buffer. Aptera would have a serious problem if the 30 minute charge to 80 percent of capacity caused an existential threat to the battery.
Unless you're on a inter-city freeway, people forget that a 60 mile range is typically represents well over two hours, possibly three hours on the road. Most errands are under 20 minutes travel time.
What ranges > 200 miles mean to consumers is they don't have to spend much time at all planning their trips. What the 1000 mile Aptera represents, though, is pure wanderlust.
If you had a 150kw dc fast charge, theoretically the Aptera could charge a 100kw battery to full in 40 minutes and a 40 kw battery in just over 15 minutes. (FYI, I know the transfer of power slows as one exceeds 80 percent of soc.)
The point is when you consider the range provided - 1000 miles - is impossible in a fossil fuel car unless it is a mighty high mpg model with an enormous tank of none exist.
A 400 mile theoretical transfer of power on an Aptera in roughly 15-20 minutes (using the 1000 mi battery because of the rapid 30 -70 percent SOC level that 400 miles represents) is literally as fast a transfer of power as gasoline. I think that has the oil industry spooked so they publish articles like this one that suggest that there won't be enough batteries and the sky is falling.
Well, the sky is falling on ICE cars and I see that article exaggerating the potential of a battery shortage. Frankly, you don't encounter shortages of a commodity like battery storage in a market where the cost of a battery pack continues to decline year over year to the point it will soon be below $100/kwh.
More importantly though, because of right to repair and the flexibility that Aptera offers for alteration, for all we know it will be the first vehicle in which solid state batteries or even the solid inert hydrogen fuel cell system that is activated by a laser appear. .
Disappointing News: Aptera reply to one of my questions. They did not answer what the max charge the Aptera will handle.
At this time we are not going to use the supercharger network. The Aptera will have the ability to fast charge at DC stations like the ones Electrify America has put out.
Tesla superchargers are near restrooms (most important for me and the wife) and most near eating establishments (fast and regular dining). I have 91,000 miles of experience traveling from GA to California and to Canada in my 2016 Tesla. Next trip in 30 days, estimate 8,000 miles round trip.
Access to Tesla Chargers would enable long trips in the Aptera. Its low energy needs would mean quick charging. I have preordered the 600 mile version and full solar array I am sure I would need to use a restroom and maybe something to eat before my limit was reached and hopefully facilities will be available near the charging station.
The Aptera is a replacement for my motorcycle. My wife doesn't ride with me on the motorcycle so I ride with my brother-in-law who lives 1000 miles from me. We go to places where motorcycles like to go ( lots of twisties). I think the 400 mile battery is sufficient given that we have to use the boy's room every two to three hours which are always near Tesla superchargers are located. We won't ride more than 300 miles per day at our destination. At our destination I try to book a hotel with a L2 charger. Last resort is the 120V outlet with an extension cord. Since the Aptera is more efficient, 120V will probably charge around 12mph so 15 hours overnight and parking will gain back 180 miles in addition to contribution from solar. The cost difference between the 400 and 600 mile battery is $4800.
Multiple choice is the key to customer satisfaction. I have decided not to carry around 400 pounds of extra battery weight as insurance, e.g., just in case I want to drive 1000 miles when I average about 100 miles per month. Also, It doesn't freeze here, so I don't need a battery warmer. I'll never use a charger either. This means I can buy the least expensive Aptera.
One size for all is a terrible idea.
It depends how far you are comfortable in driving per day. I set my limit to 500 miles per day in my 2016 model X. With the Aptera I maybe able to up it to 600 miles and use one supercharger. I usually don't go below 70 miles remaining and don't charge above 90%.
Tesla is planning to implement a plan to allow access to non-Tesla EVs. I have figured out that the 600 mile battery is sufficient to travel across the US without using the supercharger network in most cases if you don't travel more than 500 miles per day. Many hotels have Tesla L2 chargers and fewer numbers have the J1772 chargers, assuming you stay at hotels while traveling.
Many think that all people have garages. Some of my friends have no garages or private driveways. Some live in apartments or condos with limited parking. I think the Aptera would be a great car for some of them. They would be able to charge once a week with a large battery at a DC Supercharger from 20-85% charge. A larger battery would serve them well in this type of scenario. They can supplement this with level 2 charging at the market or theater during the week...whatever is convenient.
Most people who used Tesla superchargers are those traveling long distances except those in California. Most EV owners charge at home where electric rates are cheaper and normally travel fairly short distance (less than the max range of the battery per day). For Aptera it not a problem as 120V for intown travel should be sufficient.
Well, at least at first. I don't think that many people will use Tesla chargers for their Aptera 3 wheelers, but future Apteras could be a different story. By the time Elon has set up shop on Mars there could be as many Apteras as there are Teslas!
Tesla should keep in mind Aptera will be a low volume and occasionally need to charge and should not affect Tesla costomers
I hope this attachment will help those not fully experienced with charging EV outside of the home. Although this is based on the Tesla Supercharging network, it is enlightening for all EV's. After careful analysis of my own driving habits, I find that I charge at home about 99% of the time. For some reason, I usually take a larger non-EV when traveling distances mainly because of the ride comfort, cargo capacity, and safety. Having a large backseat is nice when taking guests around or just adding a few additional soft luggage pieces. It is so much easier to load cargo at knee level vs hip level. Tesla's sound system is not the greatest; I may add some aftermarket improvements. They have a nice calculator based upon your home state. Hope this helps.
https://www.autopilotreview.com/cost-to-charge-a-tesla/
Yoshua, well reasoned. Time will tell.
This is probably true. I am sure California rates are much higher, but I don't have information to confirm. The $0.28/kWh is a national average excluding California. Need someone from California to stated what they are paying per kWh which probably varies with time of day.
One of the big threats to the success of EV's is each manufacturer doing something different for charging. I really wish the US would 'enforce' a single plug standard for EV charging for cars. If this EV charging subsidy comes into play, I hope they do enforce chargers that are built to a public standard, not a proprietary one. Tesla, unfortunately, will always be proprietary. If Tesla would make their plug 'open-source' and not licensed to them, then yes, it would be good (not talking superchargers, just the plug). Unfortunately, the Tesla plug does have an overheating problem that is reasonably well known and limits charge rates at times. (New superchargers have changes to the plug to help with this).
I want EV charging to be more like filling up with gas. Whatever gas station I pull into, I don't worry about whether or not the nozzle will fit the tank. Let's standardize!!!!
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I'd LOVE to see the accounting of that 'average' of $0.28 per kWh for tesla owners in California. I think they are pulling some nationwide usage in for that to happen, though they don't claim otherwise, its just misleading when you read it and then go do your first supercharge and find out it isn't $0.28 unless you charge at certain times or find that 1 location around you that has those rates.
Tesla owners pay an average of $0.28 per kWh vs EA $0.43 per kWh w/no membership or $0.31 kWh for membership plus a $4 monthly fee. If Tesla charged a premium, 10% would be ~ $0.31 kWh; 20% ~ $0.336. If Aptera installed both receptacles that would provide greater flexibility. Aptera would install software to identify each Aptera as non-Tesla and the owner setup an account with Tesla similar to Tesla owners or other companies so an account can be debited vs having to use a credit card.