Aptera Motors announces that it has been awarded a grant from California Energy Commission to reach scaled production. It is a $21 million grant, that is granted to the company as it is one of the few startups left trying to successfully scale sustainable technology. Their solar EV has gained momentum and is closer to production.
Aptera Motors continues to push forward with hopes of achieving what its competitors could not scale SEV series production. Aptera’s long journey toward this goal made significant headway in January with the debut of its Launch Edition solar EV. While the technology set to debut on the Launch Edition Aptera looks beyond promising in unmatched range and aerodynamics, the company’s co-founders shared that massive amounts of additional funding were still required to reach production, which remains at least a year away.
One week later, the startup launched a crowdfunding campaign called Accelerate Aptera seeking to raise an additional $20-$50 million to help propel its technology toward production. The clever campaign asks its loyal community of reservation holders to invest at least $10,000 in the cause as part of a sort of funding contest, complete with a leaderboard that prioritizes first SEV deliveries to whoever donates the most.
Accelerate program
To date, the Accelerate program has garnered nearly $8 million in funding and secured production slots for 544 reservation holders, with the current leader’s investment eclipsing $1 million. At the time of the crowdfunding announcement, Aptera’s co-founders also announced the company had received a grant for $21 million, but it was all but guaranteed since the process would not be completed until February or March. Today, however, Aptera has confirmed an official award of the state grant in California which, combined with its Accelerate program, will help the startup inch ever closer to scaled SEV production. Here’s the latest.
The startup confirmed the award of the $21 million grant, which will support its Solar Mobility Manufacturing Project in California. The California Energy Commission awarded the money to Aptera in support of the project, which entails manufacturing components and vehicles in the state while lowering cumulative greenhouse gases (GHGs). CEC commissioner Patty Monahan spoke. “Aptera represents California’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit when it comes to electric vehicles, harnessing the power of the sun to go further on truly zero-emission solar energy. The Energy Commission is proud to fund Aptera to manufacture the world’s first mass-produced, three-wheeled solar car. Meeting California’s goal to zero out pollution from transportation over the next 15-25 years will require innovation and thinking outside the box.”
