Why is Aptera closing down crowdfunding?
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- Опубликовано: 16 май 2024
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Nice video Steve! We are excited to share more about the details of our engagement with US Capital as soon as we can.
So when will this q and a event about US capital global take place? Thanks, Nathan
Transparency 😂😂😂
@@natez9059 June 6. D-Day
@@natez9059 Chris said June 1st in the video.
Once again you are putting some meat into all this talk, thank you for your wisdom and making it in a way that some of us are able to understand.
I waited too long on the ability to get in on the accelerator program, I opened my account to make the investment the same morning that they closed it. I just went ahead and invested enough to get the 3.5k in discounts on the car while getting a peace of Aptera at the same time. I am very hopeful and believe in the company. I also made an initial investment at $8.5 / share so now am feeling well invested and have my money where my mouth is. Fingers crossed, I really want the car, I want everyone to have one.
Do the different levels of investing stack to get a higher discount than 5% of the purchase price of a new Aptera?
@@therookienomore88 no, but it's 5% plus 1000 off, which is a hopefully less than a 2700 discount. Better the car is cheap than a big discount .And you still get your stocks in the company. If you believe the company will succeed then it's a win win. I think there is a big appetite and a lot of use cases for a car and car company like this.
Once again we appreciate your research Steve! I look forward to the June 6th webinar and the possibility of more specific details, but turning over the fundraising to a firm with a lot of experience and possible additional options, does feel like a good idea for Aptera. I am sure this frees up much of Chris and Steve's time so they can focus on P.I. builds, testing, and the setup of production.
A small business is typically defined as having fewer than 500 employees, an annual revenue below 7.5 million USD, and are usually independently owned. Currently, Aptera meets every one of those definitions.
Lots of possibilities on how the US Capital involvement is structured but the great news is that there does now seem to be a very realistic path to production. Chris Anthony has stated many times how the original path of Aptera many years ago was harmed by not controlling the CapX structure, so I am very hopeful that this collaboration is very positive this time around. Will look forward to the answers on June 6. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for covering this topic quickly, Steve. I've long thought debt needed to be part of the path to production. Regardless of the forthcoming details and relevant percentages, I’m glad and somewhat relieved that these decisions have been made. I’m excited overall that this milestone is behind them and a more specific path to production has been laid. As an Accelerator, I’m thrilled about 1H25 delivery being achievable now. Looking forward to 6/6!
I am a reservation holder since 2022 and I've never invested but I will be investing $2,000 at the end of this month!
when you made a reservation, when were you expecting your vehicle?
@@tigerstallion I had no definitive expectation, maybe a few years, I was interested in Aptera back in 2010. Now I am older and I need a new car, but the past couple years I have used to build my credit score, get out of debt and save money for the Aptera. I'm not quite ready yet, but give me a year and a half and I'll be ready, hopefully I get it early 2026.
It is a good sign that this group decided to run a campaign for Aptera Motors. I am carefully optimistic though if this is the "big move to production" until I understand that news fully after the investor webinar in June.
Same for me. I plan on investing $2k after news of the webinar gets out. But I want to know more.
It seems likely to me that they have a (vast) majority of the investment lined up, but decided to organize the closing and final haggling of it (plus the legal handling) through an experienced investment bank. Plus maybe filling whatever gaps they still may have. Typically when you enter such a partnership, the path to the closing of the raise is already quite or completely clear. The process can take a few weeks to some months. An investment bank will often work on a base retainer to ensure seriousness of their client, but the majority of their fees will be success based.
So basically this is still very positive news for Aptera, even if they certainly also tried other, more simple arrangements.
That's my impression, too. Aptera has a done-deal, and the deal is structured so that the investor or investors require Aptera to stop any other fundraising of investment capital so as to not water down their investment in Aptera.
I don't think it's a loan structure. I think it's a shared-ownership structure, thus the demand to shut down any other VC fundraising that could dilute the investment.
I've been in sales for over 42 years. Salespeople usually don't sell stuff that they don't know they can deliver. I'm not saying it doesn't happen. But it's a stupid thing to do if you are only getting paid when the deal goes through. You want to know that what you're selling can actually be delivered and you can actually get paid your commission.
I think US Capital has somebody working there that has secured VC funds and is about to make a big commission.
I think that this financing deal is a smart move for Aptera right now. There is a lot of bad press about EVs now, with legacy auto pulling back from EV advancement, and even well funded EV automakers like Lucid, Rivian, and even Tesla feeling the pinch. I believe that EVs will have a later resurgence and growing appeal in the next few years, but without Aptera starting production in 2025 the supporting EV wave and IPO capital won't happen. Now 2025 volume production looks like it is going to be funded, which removes the uncertainty and doubt brought on by delays. And production will support an IPO, which will fund more production and expansion to build the 45K+ preorders, and move Aptera forward to success.
Agree EVs weeding-out after first ’gold-rush’, battery improvements, charger station build-out --> no great loss missing 2024 and see EV incentives continuing in 2025+ with green-friendly election results. 😀
I maybe wrong but I think that Aptera being different, not your typical EV, may end up bringing customers. With my own finances I'm not even sure if I will be prepared to buy my LE , but part of my interest is the money and energy use that it will save over the life of the vehicle. Tesla's 300 mile battery is ~60% larger than Aptera's 400 mile battery. That means 60% less battery materials and carbon footprint from mining and processing the lithium and manufacturing the battery. I wish the 250 mile battery was available. I'd opt for that option over the 400 mile.
@@garywozniak7742 I still have a 250 mile Paradigm edition on order even though I'm on the Leaderboard for an Accelerated edition. I see utility for both.
@@garywozniak7742 "I'm not even sure if I will be prepared to buy my LE." Specifics elude me but car manufacturer (Chrysler) was introducing new design & features in 1960s. They seeded 200 +/- cars nationwide partly for testing but mostly for marketing. It was hugely successful year after this exposure. Aptera should arrange financing so all who want 1 can get 1. As I recall those Chryslers were free and had to be returned after 6-12 mos.
On a more serious note, US Capitol seems to be kind of a broker between investors who have a good chunk of change on hand but don't have the time to investigate the merits of every small start-up that might be worth their time. Instead of finding the one billionaire who thinks it's a worthy project, US Capitol can find a bunch of investors to pool their money, perhaps along with banks willing to make a loan. It seems like a very sensible way to approach somewhat risky investments. Thanks for the video Steve.
That's exactly how I explained to someone just today.
Exactly. US Capital has very little skin in the game.
It seems like the closing down of the crowd funding is really good news for the company because while I am sure it’s a directive from US Capital it means that Aptera believes they will come through with the money they need.
Another head on shoulders analysis from Steve, that explores the possibilities of this financial agreement with USCG.
Add to this, Aptera track record on production financing disclosure and a very well played crowd funding, this makes me cautiously optimistic that Aptera shipping will happen in 2025! Looking forward for the details on June 6th.
This also put pressure on whales (anyone in UAE?) considering investing: time is of essence. That ship is about to sail!
Shipping in 2025 is still highly optimistic.
Sorry if I missed you pointing this out, Steve... One thing about going mostly debt now, is that they don't dilute their equity position while still achieving high production levels getting Apteras on the road. With production ramped up and thousands of cars on the road they have a much improved story to tell potential investors. This strategy will allow them to convert that original debt into a much smaller equity position having to sacrifice much less dilution than they would have otherwise needed.
Implied by Steve but well said and agree… thinking even if only 40% of 45,000? preorders convert to sales, Aptera is a big self-funded (profitable) success. Of course extending their reach is another question.
Unless the debtors want their money back in cash, in which case, it would take Aptera more time to profitability.
Thanks for another excellent video. You're the first one to explain that this doesn't mean they already have money coming their way - just a greater potential for money to come their way.
I'm feeling very positive. My interpretation of the events so far is that they're closing out the funding because it's a stipulation of an investor (s) that US Capital has already landed for Aptera.
That explains the certainty in Chris saying they're going into true mass-production imminently in 2025. He wasn't hedging his speech like he has always done previously. He said it as if it's a done deal, with authority.
My experience in interpreting people's communication as a salesperson of 42 years is that people who are deceiving you or have doubts of what they're saying to you will often insert conditional/qualifying statements as a subliminal intent to protect their reputation when they know they're doing something that's disreputable or potentially disreputable.
Conversely, when somebody speaks with certainty and command and makes statements of commitment, that person is more likely speaking from a truthful point of view, whether or not that person ends up being correct in the statements. The person believes the statements are correct, at the least. This is the way Chris was speaking to us, IMO.
I invested just under $18,000, starting when the stock was only $2.88. then I did it again when I think it was $8.80. And then I did it again when it was $10.50. Most of my shares I got at that lowest price.
I am 60 years old as of March and I never did investing in an IRA because my income oscillated between feast and famine, requiring me to tap into savings on a regular basis every 8 to 12 years. I needed everything to be very liquid.
Of course, I regret not investing in a Roth IRA every year since I graduated from college. But now I have an opportunity to invest $7,500 into a Roth IRA through Aptera and be tax-exempt on the capital gains.
I can see this stock going up a hundred times within 5 years. I can see it going up a thousand times at some point in my remaining years. My gains would all be tax exempt.
I've been wanting to invest at least $2,500 more so I could get $1,000 discount on my Aptera order, and my wife did not want to do it and did not want the risk, especially without being able to easily sell the stock..
Telling her about this recent breakthrough has finally gotten her to see the potential for magnificent wealth here. And I'd be able to tap into that money within 2 years, at age 62. It's not like I would have to wait 30 years to access the money. My wife is only 42. This could set her up as a millionaire widow for life after I'm gone. That's my greatest concern.
My brothers have been saving in IRAs for over 30 years. I could potentially end up with more money in my IRA on one, small investment than they have accumulated, even though they he did very well and made a lot of smart investments.
I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep for the next 5 years.
This is all happening at the perfect time for me. I'm hoping to become an Aptera ambassador and use my sales career as a platform to sell these things to my clients. I would offer the extra vehicles I acquire via daily rental for perhaps $1000 daily using one of those vehicle-sharing apps where you rent your vehicle through the app and it insures the renter. It gets a big cut, but who's complaining if you're getting $700 or $800 every day that someone rents your car?
I live near Newport, Rhode Island. This car has a rental in Newport/Rhode Island in the summer would absolutely smash it out of the park. I know exactly where I would locate the rental service.
🤔
Aptera shares were never $2.88. Maybe you meant $3.80.
@@adimchionyenadum2962
Okay, it was $3.80. I checked.
Thanks for policing my comments. I don't know how I could have gone on without your help.
Steve. Always appreciate your balanced coverage of Aptera. You show that one can be an objective enthusiast without being a blind fanboy. Like you, I look forward to Aptera reaching stable, solvent production while remaining cognizant as an investor of the headwinds they face. Keep doing what you’re doing and don’t let anyone change you. All the best.
I was thinking that US Capital funding type will depend on the UAE investor Steve F was able to get on board. It was not mentioned clearly, but they vaguely stated they have spent some time doing test drives with Etihad reservations holders and Investors.
but my guess is leaning towards Aptera would be going for Equity Financing solutions. I think stopping investments from crowd funding is necessary in order for them to get the actual amount of share they can offer to US Capital to start a contract for equity financing or something.
I am fairly certain they were able to unlock some of the $21M California Grant via the crowdfunding round and purchasing of some production equipment but it wasn't all of it for sure.
Steve you did masterful job covering this in depth! I once was a Register Representative, aka stock broker. My take is Aptera raised the price of the shares a bit much, going from pennies to $10.50. Might be one of the reasons that Jannies Montgomery Burlingame left and Sarah Hardwick. Removing crowd funding gives a certain flexibility, including exclusive rights. Sounds to me as a bow to a new shareholder from Abu Dubai, US Capital had an office there. The resignation of recent board member might be filled, with a fat cat.
Equipment financing is likely. Like the airlines own few of their planes. Equipment financing owned by a group of investors, aka institutions maybe get a lower price.
I think your analysis is spot on. One thing I noticed when checking out US Capital is that they offer both loans and investment brokerage. They may even have access to investment funds that they can invest in Aptera directly, basically managing investors that just want to invest in their clients as a whole. If this is the case then they can provide some equity immediately.
The thing is, the hybrid strategy makes sense. Aptera can take on some debt to gear up for production, and unlock those California funds Chris mentioned. All the debt they take on is effectively doubled. Then they'll have the equity coming in so they can start hirng after production begins. It would be hard to raise the full $60 million just on one or the other, but $30 million in debt and $30 million in equity is easier to reach.
It's also important to note that the end of crowdfunding doesn't mean we won't be able to invest. The plan has always been to go to an IPO once production starts. Now that is just guaranteed. And as you say, if US Capital wants Aptera to shut down the crowdfunding, that may mean they want to handle the individual investors too. Put it all under their umbrella so they can make the money off of it.
We'll know more in June.
Before reading your comment I was wondering if US Capital only aggregates funds from large investors… worth a closer look at their track record given their values seem aligned. Thx.
Yeah, I was unsure if they were a broker (i.e. the Dukes from Trading Places 😂) an investment fund like BlackRock, or a loan company. The first and third are certain, I'm unsure of the second. But it's likely part of their portfolio.
Thanks as usual for your measured, analytical, post rather than a knee jerk positive or negative, superficial response. No money yet as you have pointed out. So euphoria needs to be on hold until at least the 6th of June for the real story.
The reason equity financing stipulates no more crowdfunding is because equity financing is based on a defined percentage of equity ownership. US Capital Global is willing to provide or support X amount of financing to Aptera based on Y percentage ownership of the company. Crowdfunding steadily shrinks the Y percentage, which changes the risk/reward ratio for US Captial Global.
The Accelerator are a $71M equity. And the reservation list is another $1,350M potential revenue. Even at only 20% profit, that is $270M in profit. And Chris Anthony seemed to feel it would be higher. Even with the cost of opening another manufacturing site, thee increased production should be welcome.
Profit on units will take time as they ramp. I know they said 6000 units for business break even (covering rents / admin) but it will probably take a little more. I wouldn't expect more than 5-10% profit when considering parts and labour for each unit at best for the first few yeaars; I'd love to be surprised.
I am not following how you arrived at $71M equity for the accelerator?
Can you develop? Thx.
@@bertrandp2977 That is 2070 Accelerators that will buy a LE for about $34,500. That works out to $71,415,000.
Best news all week
Thanks for the slow, easier to understand run down of these finance programs.
I actually fully expected my investment to get diluted either via more crowd funding or via another mechanism for equity investment like US Capital. I do not have a problem with that as I know how much more money Aptera needs and I wasn't too sure Aptera could get it in the timeframe they would need it to get to full production in less than a year.
Trying to adopt your mindset but my $20 is as valuable as the next (rich) guy. Kinda doubt we’ll know exact terms June 6th but hope so.
@@gr8dvdjust remember dilution doesn't mean you lost value. Your $20 is likely still worth $20
full production in less than a year? theyve been raising money for many years and were supposed to start manufacturing last year
2020 actually, look it up on Internet archive
@@GoClimbARockEh Lost value is exactly what results from dilution, generally speaking. Major difference here as startup situation is prospect of total loss (bankruptcy) vs. large investor increasing likelihood, or speed to profitability for Aptera… & capital appreciation for investors.
I am pretty sure they know the timeline for the money flow from US Capital, at least initially as Aptera wouldn't be able to basically state 1H25 delivery is on the table. There is still some risk. I expect it to be small. The PI build is what removes the last of the risk, so only a small risk it left that is well within what is manageable.
they dont seem to have a problem with fanciful delivery dates as they originally told me Id get my car this summer.
@@tigerstallionYou'll get your car this summer? We'll be waiting for you here with your Champagne 😂
@@adimchionyenadum2962 thats what I was told when I made the reso. unfortunately doesnt seem like itll be next summer either
I think your analysis is spot on! A line of credit for equipment purchases could do a world of good. They have until 3/31/26 to use that matching grant money. I sure would hate to see any of it go to waste. I don't know what the expiration of the sales tax exemption is but there probably is one. They could invest (a borrowed) $35 million and get more than half of it back within a few months. I looked into USCapitals portfolio a little, and the minimum investment was $25K. It may be that investment in Aptera will still be possible, just that the minimum will be higher through USC. Aptera will either drop the INVEST button or link it to USC for future investors. I am hopeful that USC has a good track record with their investor pool and that trust will garner more interest for Aptera. Overall I think this is quite positive and have trust in the COEs decision. This is way better than bringing someone else 'in-house'.
Can you imagine the stress off of Chris and Steve’s shoulders with this investment capital firm coming on board? Still so much to do but definitely a sigh of relief is in order. Exciting times for sure.
Customer delivery's in 2025 ?? Hmmmm, After so many years of waiting I have my doubt's. I'll have to see it to believe it. The next question is after production starts how many more YEARS will the un-invested buyer have to wait, 2-4 more years maybe. Signing up and getting on the waiting list early doesn't mean s**t. This car has been the biggest disappointment.
Interesting that one of US Capital locations is in the UAE. ;)
Massive amount of US funding is from the middle east. They gotta spend their oil money on something.
Is US Capital American? Nobody has stated that clearly.
Who do you think was riding in the seat next to Chris McCammon? Plans within plans.
I'm probably wrong but it seems like having someone co-sign for a loan. Since they don't have enough collateral.
I'll need to see if i can move some money and get another $2000 in to get that discount and a little more stock. Amazing to see them have what they need.
Excellent analysis into the funding situation of @apteramotors, you may not have been able to make one of the first videos about this update from Aptera but it is one of the most indepth.
It is well known that Steve is not in the business of being the first to put out a video. That is why we all look forward to his shows.
You would have to be crazy to further invest IF.....there is a significant possibility your share values could be seriously diluted by this agreement. Dilution equals significant $$$ losses straight off the bat.
I would call it superceded but maybe they'll be transparent and show just how bad it could be.
IOW,, USCapital is a *broker* , not an investor, and they have not had to judge the technical merit of the car's design.
The risk will instead be on the "high net worth" investors. and the current crowdfunding suc...., uhh, shareholders.
Suckers for those like me that hesitated to understand.
My sense of the situation, based on nothing, is that this is one of the "several options" they have said in the past that they've been keeping in reserve. Since the trip to Abu Dhabi failed to flush out an inspired billionaire this is what they're settling for. It is probably less than the ideal they were hoping for.
Right but better than just handing the company over to someone. Which some of these startups have done.
This was my take as well. They may have been holding off on the US Capital deal because they were wanting them to close crowdfunding (possibly because US Capital wants to take over individual investment) and Aptera wanted to wait as long as possible before pulling that trigger.
Of course, it could just be coincidence that Aptera decided to close crowdfunding. It could just be coincidence that US Capital has an office on Abu Dhabi. It's interesting to speculate about possible connections, but don't base your conclusions on it without more verification.
@@danielthompson3928including a little company named Aptera! (1st time around)
Pretty sure it’s an equity deal for the reason you stated. There will be a significant dilution event.
Darn it! I was so looking forward to the very analytical, even-tempered Steve finally becoming EMOTIONAL after hearing this great news. Alas, as promising as it is, it doesn't sound like Aptera has the money in hand to move forward right now, just that the money is much more likely to be available soon. Sigh - I'll just have to wait until the first Aptera rolls of the assembly line.
Not great news yet, just the potential for credible news. June 6th, the next chapter, should address the speculation.
Excellent video. So spot on. If this is a bit outside your expertise I want you to know you did a great job. If it's in your area of expertise you still did a great job.
In all, I still am of the view--send me a post card, in care of the afterlife; when these are built and sold.
Thanks for explaining what this means!
One thing that I saw is that they are hiring ,right now more people , so maybe more money is coming in right now.
Thanks for parsing this information for your viewers.
High-net-worth investors do not want a lot of outstanding shares. Closing crowdfunding along with some major employees leaving without all their shares allows new discounted shares to be purchased by US Capital.
I agree with your analysis, Steve. I think you just gave us a preview (and possibly a full summary) of their next investor webinar.
That’s essentially what I surmised as well. I also thought about the bump in funding but I was not sure if that was the only reason.
Uninformed speculation is not meat. Stick to what Chris said and watch the June 6 presentation. Personally, what I heard is that the 9 month clock has either started, or will start on July 1. No longer is volume production a hypothetical based on reeling in some billionaire. THAT is the HUGE news. The rest is the work of the finance pros to work out.
Chris also said that 71 aptera's would delivered in 2020, so
... Maybe a grain of salt
Maybe doing this will open up the ATVM loan? If I remember correctly, Aptera needed to have some production and capital in order to get that loan
I agree with your assumptions.
Overall I agree with your perspective on this. It’s time for Aptera to get some new professional help for their fundraising efforts. Hopefully US capital will be able to find the resources they need. Personally I’ll continue to sit on the sidelines as I don’t have extra money I can burn on a high risk investment. After it IPOs and I can see how the company and market performs over time I’ll consider buying some shares then.
I would not be surprised to see the accelerator program pass $50 million by June 30. There will be other crowd finders that are not on the accelerated program that will be jumping on as well!
Crowdfunding @ $10.50/sh when US Capital will likely be getting discounted shares? I’ll be upping my investment in June only if current price is not greatly diluted.
Holy crap! First time I actually feel like this is good news. Hopefully this pans out!
Based on what he said it sounded like they already have a good chunk of money and everything is full speed ahead.
Am I wrong?
We do know that funding is secured to complete the PI builds and to perform validation and crash testing. So this deal doesn't change that. They will still be very busy completing the production models and getting them ready for large scale production.
From the way Chris phrased it, I seems like he is confident enough to commit to production beginning about a year from now. Maybe 9 months, maybe 15 months, but he seems confident that it will be 2025. I interpret that as meaning that he has SOME money, if not right now, by the time of the webinar on Jun 6. Not the whole $60 million up front, but enough that he can start placing orders for the production tooling.
Of course that is still the best case scenario. Any setbacks will definitely hurt that schedule.
@@richardryley3660I have 100% agree with everything you said.
you are wrong. Fambro said earlier this year theyll need lots of financing for a long time, and this was after he said they only need 25M to start production by 2023.
seems like theyre full speed ahead on collecting cash, but already a year behind production, and likely not producing consumer vehicles this year as they say they dont yet have enough money to finish the factory.
@@tigerstallion Steve Fambro could not have said that production was due to start on the current Aptera in 2023, as Gamma was not even complete until Sept 2022 and the partnership with CPC was announced in Nov 2022. So this had to be prior to the switch to CPC. This is probably also why the price quoted was so low.
Apteras original plan was to produce only a few thousand vehicles a year for a niche market that would buy three wheelers made by hand. Even after they switch to the current plan, they still intended to make the PI builds and possibly the Accelerator vehicles by hand. But soon after that they started talking about needing the big investor to start production.
That's moot now, since there is no reason they can't just start making the Accelerator vehicles once they gear up for production.
@@richardryley3660 he did say it. sounds like youre newer to Aptera. Ive had a reservation since 2021.
All this talk about financing is making me feel a loan.
My eyes, having covered the office floor AND the hallway, are now rolling out the door....
Sounds like promising forward motion! … Of course Investors typically can’t share “publicly” the upcoming Investor Meeting info. Aptera will…. in “ due course” ! All 👀& 👂for that ! Thx
Aptera has "good will" reflected in reservations. It worth millions...not sure how many. That will be revealed in the next round of equities, $5 per share? $12?
☀☀☀☀Go Go Aptera!!!☀☀☀☀
This is going to sound naive I am sure but sometimes I wonder what would have happened if early on Aptera had actually came to market not with a vehicle first but a product which used their expertise and practical vision but was cheaper and more accessible to more people. Then as that product gained traction and produced revenue they could offer the vehicle. I say this only because when I look at the system and structure of the vehicle itself it is not too difficult to imagine all of it in a smaller package and doing something way simpler yet efficiently for the consumer. Honda and Yamaha come to mind but also Shimano in the sense that some of those simpler products they offer but at higher volumes are probably pretty lucrative. Even Panasonic seems to do this across different marketplaces.
How do you evaluate intellectual property for a potential investor?
You wave your hands and smile a lot.
2025? darn, the lease on my little tesla is up in 2027. sorry aptera but the family needed to replace our lemon law refunded kia. :(
From what I heard from a fellow accelerator that went to the taco Tuesday that it’s a convertible bond.
I find debt financing based on intellectual property to be pretty iffy. I think I heard Chris say that debt financing will be used (in part) to buy equipment. The California grant may be used in connection so that between the two, "all" the production equipment in California can be acquired.
Customer deliveries in 2025? 🤔 Hmm... There's an awful lot of proving and fettling and testing to get through before then, isn't there? Assuming no revisions are needed, it still sounds rather hopeful to me.
Despite the praise from loyal fans about how 'open' Aptera is [when IMHO it isn't], we've been shown practically nothing of how the various mock-up models perform in reality. Not in areas where it reeeeeeealy matters. Difficult, tricky, nitty-gritty stuff. So that 'delivery in 2025' sounds pretty optimistic.
Optimism is fine, but it's too easy for wishful thinking to turn it into a comforting delusion.
I expect Happy Steve will remove this Elli-phant-in-the-room Comment for spreading Elmer Fudd, but if just one person sees it before he does, it'll have served its purpose. I'm not anti-Aptera - I just don't like to see people disappointed. With some dewy-eyed devotees, it's like watching trusting puppies being starved and kicked.
I've nothing against the proposed vehicle (er, apart from the high price, excessive complexity and most basic aspects of the vehicle's design), but people can't live on hope for ever.
There'd be no problem if Aptera had hand-built one - just ONE - crude proof-of-concept prototype several years ago, and shown us that the tech was viable, the concept was sound, and that all the systems worked as expected.
Once that (ugly, tatty) donkey of a test-mule had been put through its paces, stunned the world, shocked a few cynical motoring journalists, impressed some big investors, and [MOST IMPORTANTLY] silenced grumpy, carping, sceptical critics like me, the company could have retired its battered, smoking remains, concentrated on production, and raised two fingers to all doubters, secure in the knowledge that their goal was in sight.
Historical note: Raising two fingers is the Olde English equivalent of the modern middle finger favoured by, amongst many others, USA peeps. It was originally a sign of mocking contempt given by medieval archers to enemy soldiers [usually French - we fought them for centuries] who, if they took an English bowman prisoner in battle, would smash or chop off the first two (string-drawing) fingers of his right hand.
Ewww, nasty.
Thus maimed, the archers were rendered harmless and, rather than being simply killed, were cunningly returned to their own side, there to inconvenience the medics with fever, gangrene and sepsis, placing a huge extra burden on the logistics guys.
Maiming by smashing fingers was the origin of the term 'an act of mayhem', by the way. So... giving the two-fingered 'salute' a.k.a. 'flicking the vee' - with fingernails outwards, please - was a way to taunt the enemy: "Ha, ha, look: we've still got our archery fingers, and now we're going to kill you with them." (Twang!)
It's an offensive gesture in England even today.
But that's not important, now.
What's important is that we'll be seeing Aptera deliveries in 2025! Yay. Um, apparently. Allegedly. Possibly. Perhaps.
Aptera has never demonstrated miles/kWh, kWh/day. They don't have a solar rear hatch, regenerative braking, adequate component cooling, cabin HVAC. They have disclosed most of these designs are not complete. I think suspension is being completed. In spirit of this they have adds for 1,000 mile trike. Unconscionable!!
Thanks for the interesting lesson.
It is never too late for Apple to make an offer to Aptera. That would be peanuts compared with the 50 billion already spend on a car that is never going to be.
All they've done is pass fund raising over to a broker who deals with private investors. I wouldn't put my own money into this operation. Just an endless series of claims about the performance and delivery dates. It will become more obvious in the next year or so.
They need 200 million at least, and the company is worth less than half of that, how would they ever get a loan or equity deal.... Not
They have more than just intellectual property to put up as collateral. Look at everything in their offices and factory, and then there is all the cash that they have on hand. And why do you think that aptera won't start production by early 2025? They clearly stated that they will start production by early 2025. Whether they have been given "all of rhe money" already or not doesn't matter. They now have an agreement. A capital line of credit no doubt that they will draw on as needed which is why they did not simply shut off crowdfunding immediately. The less they borrow the better
The eyes continue to be off the PI ball here.
November’s “PI’s completed in the first few months of next year” have yet to produce a single drive-able vehicle incorporating all of the systems they are proposing to offer in their LE vehicles.
To be clear, 6 months have elapsed from this projection/promise to now. In 7 months it will be 2025.
To go from fully-tested and proven preproduction units, through all sourcing/tooling/qualification of production parts/units, then to set up and assemble them @ acceptable/shippable levels in ‘25 is a stretch for an experienced manufacturer.
And they’re still collecting pieces.
So without proven mules, without manufacturing experience, you should, based on observable progress over the last 6 months, really question where this suggests they’ll be next year.
I suggest they’re so much further from shipping a fully fleshed-out product than you realize and you should cool your jets on projections until you finally see documented performance and content on what they’re proposing to sell you.
Funding still not secured …….
i was supposed to get my Aptera this summer, yet they dont have enough money to build out the factory...
@@tigerstallion still need about $70 to start building production line........maybe 2026 first one will be delivered.....
I think someone in the UAE or elsewhere with deep pocket is going to fund it.
@@garywozniak7742 they’ve been talking about the UAE for years, still not a single person threw any significant money at the company
It's called a teaser. June 6th webinar, GOTCHA.
Sadly, I still think this is all going to end in tears....
I will gladly receive Steve’s assumptions and wait till June 6. I will be watching the Leaderboard. It is rising already and I expect it to accelerate every day to June 30, with a big spike after the investors meeting.
Future tears from those that don’t choose to buy a piece of this company before June 30?
@@tskogen6905 And tears of joy for those that did!
@@tskogen6905 all ya'll are focusing on stock value now because production is soo far behind
@@tigerstallion
Production is so far behind what? Again, more emphasis on some imagined timeline that amounts to nothing in an industry where delays are the norm, not the exception. Aptera will get to market in it's own time. Closer now than ever before.
I will wait until June 6th for the real truth instead of your assumptions!
Funny how people spin this into positive news
It is not, it reeks of desperation