Aptera finally built a production-intent working 3-wheel EV

Aptera on Wednesday announced that it had completed a working production-intent version of its high-efficiency, three-wheel solar EV.

This vehicle, the first in a series, is the first to combine a production-spec powertrain and carbon-fiber body with Aptera’s in-house designed software and battery pack, according to a company press release.

Solar hardware, a production-intent thermal management system, and complete exterior surfaces will be added as part of the next phase of testing, according to Aptera. Vehicles will then undergo high-speed track testing to validate performance and efficiency characteristics, according to the company.

The production-intent process takes Aptera a step closer to an actual salable vehicle, for which the company claims to have more than 50,000 reservations. A $33,200 Launch Edition was revealed in January 2023 with a 4.0-second 0-60 mph acceleration time, a 42-kwh battery pack that would provide a range of up to 400 miles, and a solar power system that can provide 700 watts of continuous power good for 40 miles of range per day, the company has said.

Aptera has in the past discussed other versions with as much as 1,000 miles of range once power from the solar array is factored in, and 0-60 mph times as low as 3.5 seconds. The company also announced its use of the Tesla North American Charging Standard (NACS) port well ahead of the mass migration by U.S.-market EV brands last year. In recent months it’s also hinted that some design changes are coming to the three-wheeler for efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Aptera earlier this year completed a crowdfunding program and moved on to seeking private capital on its way toward volume production. Over three years, Aptera raised more than $100 million from more than 17,000 investors across all phases of crowdfunding. The company said in May that, pending the necessary funding, it hoped to bring the three-wheeler to market “at scale” in 2025.