Think globally. Act locally. Viva Aptera!

I don’t want to sound too cynical, but are they really building a solar powered car? And selling it? Or are they just raising money? As they did before they shut down in 2011?

Your cynicism is not unwarranted. The odds are definitely stacked against Aptera. Personally, I am amazed that they have come this far. They have begged, borrowed, and gone to the capital markets to get the money to stay afloat. (Many would say that going to the capital markers is functionally equivalent to stealing. Ja, ja.) This kind of endeavor generally takes at least US$1 billion or more to get off the ground. They have come this far with less than US$150 million.

Living in San Diego at the time, I have been following them since their initial endeavor in the mid-2000's and their multiple interactions with the San Diego Electric Vehicle Association. They were sooooo close to getting the same support from the Feds as companies like Tesla did after the Global Financial Crisis / Great Recession. What happened? The program stated that the loans were only for 4-wheeled vehicles. Ouch! There were a few other mishaps but that was the final nail in the coffin. The company fell into the hands of another entity that mothballed the project.

Fast forward several years and the Co-CEOs wanted to try again. After some seed money from a few individuals, they went the "crowd sourcing" route. Never in my life have I ever purchased a Restricted Security or even an Initial Public Offering, for that matter, nor have I ever recommended any to my clients or students. (According to Benjamin Graham, IPO stands for It's Probably Overpriced. Ja, ja.) However, I was so excited about Aptera becoming a reality that I joined in on the crowd sourcing. Like many others, we fully expected that the company would fold eventually. But we wanted to see this car become a reality!

The Co-CEOs, Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro, come across as just regular, down-to-Earth Guys-Down-the-Street. The reality is that they are geniuses whose initial idea literally stumped NASA. They paid NASA $17,000 to do an aerodynamic analysis of the design of their car. NASA came back and said, "Hey, guys, can we talk? The numbers aren't right. This car can't be this aerodynamically efficient." That's when they knew they were on to something important.

They have also had a ton of help and input from the car industry's guru, Sandy Munro. He has helped them create a car with an order of magnitude fewer parts and build processes. They are using carbon fiber bodies. At first glance, the car looks fragile and unsafe. The reality is that pound for pound, carbon fiber is much stronger than steel, almost 10 times stronger. The car also looks claustrophically tiny. I have had the privilege of riding in the passenger seat (just in the parking lot, Folks) and it is surprisingly roomy for a 2-seater. Also, the trunk area is large. They even have a camping kit. Check it out!

For you logistics fans, here is the exciting part. Instead of having to build a huge factory costing over a billion US dollars, because of the reduction of parts and processes, they can utilize a building the size of a typical JCPenney's or Macy's to build their cars. Therefore, they can decentralize their manufacturing using all the empty mall space across the country and easily export their manufacturing to other parts of the world. This will result in orders of magnitude reductions in capital requirements when they need to expand. Very cool!

Disclaimer, Warning, Peligro: As mentioned, you can purchase Aptera stock on the Nasdaq. Unless you are willing to lose your entire investment, Don't Do It! As Little Guy outlined in the previous post, history is littered with great car designs from upstart companies only to have almost all of them fail. But that shouldn't stop you from joining me and others as we hope and pray and root for this company. Of course, whether or not they fail, you can be much assured that the Chinese have already stolen as much of the design as they have been able to and are working on their own solar electric vehicles as we speak. As Kurt Vonnegut so often would say, "So it goes."

The world needs this car! Who wouldn't want a car that, depending upon your driving habits and location, never needs to be refueled? Viva Aptera!

P.S. Ooops! I forgot to answer your important question, "Are they really building a solar powered car?" The answer is, "Yes. They have moved to low-volume assembly line production." They are building test and validation vehicles. If all goes well, they will be able to build a few hundred for sale to the first customers in 2026. They need more -- you guessed it! -- money to get to high-volume assembly line production. That is scheduled for early 2027. We shall see!