Solar Electric Vehicle (SEV) startup Aptera Motors appears to have delayed some deliveries of its flagship vehicle, according to reports from multiple reservation holders. The Aptera SEV recently entered beta phase of development and was previously on track to begin first deliveries late this year. According to Aptera, it remains on track to hit this 2022 delivery target, although it’s unclear how many reservation holders will see Aptera deliveries before year’s end.
Aptera Motors is a mobility startup based in San Diego, California, that specializes in solar electric vehicles (SEVs). This is the second iteration of the company intending to bring its flagship SEV to market, allowing us to follow the startup and its progress for quite some time now.
After unveiling its flasghip SEV in late 2020, Aptera Motors has been quite prudent in keeping the public, and its growing list of reservation holders in the know about its progress.
The public has seen three different alpha versions with black, white, and metallic silver exteriors, as well as news of a new 80,000 sq. foot facility in Carlsbad, California where the upcoming Apteras will be built.
In late January, Aptera shared test track footage of its Beta version SEV alongside word that Aptera production and deliveries were still on track to begin later this year. That may still be the case according to Aptera, but many current reservation holders are reporting that their windows for deliveries have been pushed.
Aptera updates reservation holder deliveries to 2023-2024
As of late last week, some of us Aptera reservation holders at Electrek noticed our expected deliveries had been pushed from 2022 to “between 2023 and 2024.” In investigating further, it appears that nearly – if not all reservation holders – received the same delivery push.
Members of the subreddit r/ApteraMotors have been sharing images of their expected deliveries and sharing their spot in line. This is the same for the Facebook Group, Aptera Owners and Enthusiasts Group, USA and Worldwide which has shared some interesting details as well.
First, let’s recap a statement a representative for Aptera Motors gave to Electrek, regarding the delayed deliveries:
Our goal has not changed and we have not had any delays in the production of our solar electric vehicles. 2023-2024 is a date range that will depend on your specific configuration choice, reservation date, and where you live in the world. Our goal is to begin deliveries to our earliest Paradigm Edition customers in 2022, followed by as many U.S. customers as possible in 2023 until we ramp up to 40 per day. We hope to start international deliveries in 2024. Our Aptera team will be reaching out to everyone individually with more clarity on exact delivery dates in the later part of 2022. Our priority is to build the highest quality solar electric vehicle while getting Aptera to our customers as quickly as possible. Our community is welcome to email info@aptera.us with any questions in the meantime
According to Aptera, these delivery dates will be narrowed down by speaking to certain individuals directly later this year. For now however, it appears all reservation holders are looking at deliveries between 2023-2024 according to their account dashboard.
Although the automaker has said Paradigm Edition customers will receive 2022 priority for their SEV deliveries, many in the Facebook Group are reporting the same 2023-2024 delivery window. Some of these customers are the first hundred in line, one customer said they are #15 and still don’t see 2022 listed anymore.
We’d like to hope this is more of a general delay on everyone’s reservation page that will soon be amended as individual Aptera deliveries move forward. It’s not uncommon for an automaker to lay out a longer timeline, then contact individual customers earlier based on their preferences and configurations.
If there are in fact delays however, Aptera is not sharing details at this time. Here’s an noteworthy excerpt from Electrek‘s exclusive interview with Aptera co-founder Chris Anthony this past fall:
Scooter Doll: On the topic of supply chains, do you think that these sort of strangles on global supply chains will have any effect on Aptera’s production timeline for 2022?
Chris Anthony: I do. You know, we had aspired to make a production-intent vehicle by the end of this year. I think we’re pushing that into next year, but hopefully not too far into next year. We’ve signed some significant agreements that I think will provide us parts in 2022 at a greater scale than we were anticipating before. So I think once we pull the trigger on manufacturing, we will be able to scale rapidly, and really start to crank out vehicles. But getting to that start of production is probably later than what I had in my head at least, a year or two ago.
Aptera Motors has not specifically noted any supply chain issues publicly at this point, but it was definitely aware of that risk coming into 2022. The SEV startup has missed its goal of production once before, but has a large community rooting for its second attempt. Albeit with a chaser of wariness… we’ve been hurt before.
One thing is certain – there are a lot of people rooting for the Aptera SEV to reach full-fledged production, and those reservation holders are watching the company’s progress closely. They’d simply like to see the SEVs in their driveways sooner rather than later… for instance, before 2024 would be awesome.
If you’d like to join the waiting list, you can reserve an Aptera SEV of your own for $100 down, $70 if you use this link.
Electrek’s Take
This is a tricky situation for an EV automaker that is still essentially a startup trying to deliver its first ever SEV. The response from Aptera’s team could be damage control, but it could just as easily be the honest truth.
It’s only early February. Deliveries can still begin in late 2022 according to plan, especially for those early “Paradigm Edition” customers. That being said, I find it interesting that some of those individuals are also seeing the delays on their reservation page.
It also begs the question of how many Paradigm Edition customers there are, which would give a better idea of roughly how many Aptera deliveries we can still expect in 2022. I’ve asked, but have not heard back yet.
Some of us at Electrek, myself included, are reservation holders and are excited about the prospect of the Aptera SEV, whenever it does arrive. I’m rooting for the technology and what it means for the future of transportation, even if it arrives later than anticipated.
I plan to learn more later this year when Aptera Motors moves to its new facility. I’m hoping to arrange another visit and see the Betas and beyond (fingers crossed) and will report back.
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