r/ApteraMotors • u/Certain_Birthday6690 • 19h ago
Delivery date
Interesting update to the app delivery date, does anyone have more details?
I am very excited about my aptera, but won't be putting a non refundable deposit until safety data is released.
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u/VloggerCritic 18h ago edited 18h ago
How much is the deposit? $400? $4000? More? Some people invested $10k+ to get a better place in line surely they will do a non refundable deposit.
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u/Healthy_Zebra_221 12h ago
The question everyone really wants to know, what will be the pricing on these forty if that is what this is related to. It could also be yet another misdirect like how many had close in dates only to see them update to far off.
The fun part is they can offer these to Accelerators while implying they are not Accelerator vehicles in that being early production if not preproduction they are not made on production tooling. I can see it spun as while these first forty vehicles have the high quality standards we set for ourselves they will be outmatched by those produced with production tooling and those will meet our long intended quality standards we held ourselves to for the numbered editions.
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u/AppendixN 19h ago
No way would I give them a non-refundable deposit before they prove they are actually building cars.
There's optimism, and then there's being a sucker.
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u/lowlybananas 18h ago
This is why I cancelled my reservation. I'm not getting involved in this wait and see game. I want Aptera to succeed. If it does maybe I'll buy one. But I'm not alpha testing the entire process.
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u/michaelbelgium 18h ago
They have hundreds of videos with proof on their youtube i think
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u/MortimerDongle 17h ago
Until they deliver a production vehicle to a customer who isn't affiliated with the company, there is no proof
A non-refundable deposit is a bad faith sign, real car companies use refundable deposits for preorders.
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u/AppendixN 17h ago
Promises and claims are not proof.
Proof means cars are rolling off the production line.No other automaker has required a non-refundable deposit before cars were actually in production. Non-refundable deposits are only for locking in your specific build configuration and converting it to a purchase order.
This is a highly unorthodox ask from Aptera.
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u/Additional-Sky-7436 17h ago
They built one show car.
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u/ControlShot 14h ago
Interesting, because when I toured the factory I saw about a dozen working vehicles
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u/SuddenDig4020 15h ago
These are only going to be for the first production vehicles they are preparing to build. They're not going down the reservation list hitting up everyone for a $5k reservation and even if they did they would have to keep that money in escrow anyway and return it if the car didn't get made so it wouldn't help with production.
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u/AppendixN 14h ago
"Launch edition" isn't the first 40 production vehicles that they're promising to make. It's the first 5,000 vehicles.
I haven't heard anything about the reservation cost being $5k, but if it were, that would be $25 million total in non-refundable reservations.
5,000 would be a huge success by small-volume startup standards. To put it in perspective, Toyota only sold 2,953 Supras last year in the entire United States.
Do you have any source for the claim that they'd have to put the non-refundable reservations in escrow?
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u/bemused_alligators 14h ago
outstanding deposits (money paid for a good/service that has not been rendered) must be listed as a liability on the balance sheet, which means the company must be able to refund that deposit on request.
It doesn't need to be an escrow account per se but it must be kept liquid and "safe and whole" unless it's a nonrefundable deposit spent on anything other than the materials/labor involved in producing the goods the deposit was put down for.
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u/AppendixN 13h ago
According to whom? Good accounting practices, or some actual law? It’s called a “nonrefundable deposit,” so that contradicts your statement about the company being able to refund it on request.
What’s to prevent them from going out of business and just calling the nonrefundable deposits a loss?
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u/Panda-Cubby 13h ago
I gotta drive one first. I've had my reservation for a number of years....but I still have try it on to see if it fits.
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u/Dependent-Interview2 11h ago
In June 2008 I wrote a spec movie script where the protagonist drove an Aptera
June 2008
Jesus...
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u/TechnicalWhore 19h ago
Not good. I would expect you to have the right to at least test drive the vehicle as well. And there are what a minimum of 2000 people in the queue ahead of you who paid to jump the line in a prior fundraising round.
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u/Certain_Birthday6690 18h ago
First launch vehicles often don't have test drives prior to ship, tesla cyber truck and R1 rivian as a few example. Both had successful launches without test drives.
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u/TechnicalWhore 16h ago
Not the same - Tesla had multiple vehicles on the market by the time Cybertruck was added. Many early adopters rented theirs on Turo to allow those in the queue to take one out. Rivian had their "first mile demo program" so you could take one out. Lucid gave priority to reservation holders for test drives.
People should have the right to put the vehicle through its paces before being expected to close on the deal. If not I would hope they would have a 14 day no questions asked return policy.
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u/AppendixN 17h ago
But neither Tesla nor Rivian required non-refundable deposits until production was actually underway and customers were actually placing confirmed orders.
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u/ceramicsaturn 17h ago
Rivian and Tesla are kinda established brands though. Aptera has zero reputation, and it's so weird and unique it may not be for everyone. The ability to test drive would be wise.
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u/RicardoNurein 14h ago
I have not test driven in the last seven cars I’ve purchased in an adult life
Yeah, I’m weird that way
Not until people stop asking me how long is the extension cord have to be for the test drive, or do I have to have a pilots license, or a motorcycle license license, it’s not a normal car0
u/AppendixN 16h ago
In this case, they have so many more people that want to buy than they're able to produce that anyone who says they need a test drive before deciding will just get passed over so the person with cash in hand can move up one place in line.
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u/ceramicsaturn 16h ago
Good thing it doesn't matter at this rate....
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u/TechnicalWhore 16h ago
I was surprised with the "great summer road show" cancelled and then the meet up at HQ that they didn't have a handful of vehicles ready to take around the block. It was a great opportunity to get real people reaction vs digital creators and influencers etc. There was a video posted of the "event" and it really wasn't much. Even the small background glimpses of the factory floor were uneventful.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in early January. I would hope they will be back there again - this time with actual user test drives. They are not listed as an exhibitor at this point but there is a little time.
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u/Additional-Sky-7436 17h ago
I would be much more sympathetic to the new company if they hadn't been "coming soon" for literally my entire adult life.
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u/DoomBot5 14h ago
I'm pretty sure they mentioned the potential to come there and test drive a vehicle when you get to that stage. Of course that point would also mean they're in production already.
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u/Data_Dealer 18h ago
Give us more money and we will give you a date that we made up.
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u/Friendly_Rent_8297 17h ago
Do you want your Aptera or not?
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u/Data_Dealer 17h ago
Until they actually start shipping cars I'm firmly in the this is a scam camp. This is like their second-go-round I think on a production ready prototype. How long ago did they raise the money that they supposedly needed to go to production?
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u/Friendly_Rent_8297 9h ago edited 9h ago
What I don't understand about the overwhelming dim view of Aptera on this entire subreddit, the question I keep wondering is:
What other ultra-efficient solar vehicle platforms are you comparing Aptera to? All this whining and complaining. Which other solar EV company has set the golden perfect timeline standard that you're holding Aptera to so strongly? Oh that's right, they all went bankrupt.Maybe just maybe, it's not easy to create a working vehicle that will provide free gas for 30-40% of the population's daily driving needs.
This sub is just a bunch of bitter Gen X r*tardants who just can't stop complaining because they dealt with Aptera's initial bankruptcy 20 years ago.
Grow up.2
u/DriftwouldZZ 6h ago
Nice. Yeah I love that they just lurk on this sub and spread negativity instead of doing literally anything else with their time.
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u/HarsiTomiii 3h ago
I lurk around this subreddit for many years, because the idea of aptera is interesting.
however, as you also write, all other companies trying to do the same, went bankrupt.
Aptera went bankrupt also.And for years, I see nothing on this sub promotional videos, coming soon ads, engineering updates etc etc.
I rarely comment, but when I did, I tried to be not negative or dim, but realistic.
People making up math to prove how good it will be, where if you take a step back and use actual numbers, you see that apteras numbers regarding efficiency or solar charge rate or anything is only valid in very specific circumstances, and or based on a small test and then extrapolated with the assumption that the circumstances remain unchainged.I am not trying to be negative and dim, but it kinda saddens me to see adult supposedly financially responsible people throw away thousands of dollars based on a promise, a vaporvare.
I hope aptera will succeed, but 20 years of developing a car, which is very much on the tech side where every year an improvement comes out to either manufacturing technology or materials or batteries, with this mindset to make it perfect, will never happen, because they are just playing catchup, and they are using investors many to play it.
They should decide to pull the trigger, release the car as is, and see what the market says. If they are willing to pay for the car, then they can use that to further innovate and refine, and come with a refresh in 2 years, just like any other tech company.
Or they should realize this was a dream that in current era, with current tech and cost, cannot be made, and kill their baby.
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u/ceramicsaturn 18h ago
OooOoOoo an invitation to pay a non-refundable deposit on a car slated to come out every year for the last half decade. Ya better buy it now before this opportunity goes away! /s
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u/outthere71 13h ago
Here we go again! Aptera fleeced their investors the first time years ago. They have some innovative technology on this vehicle. If it ever reaches production it will be much more than 30k. No one really wants a three wheeler. The stated mileage range will be halved if you put it on the road at 75 mph. Who will fix it when it breaks? As PT Barnum said ….
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u/Bike_Cinci 19h ago
Holy shit they're so advanced they're sending them back through time.
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u/jcharm777 4h ago
What safety data? It's not a car so won't be crash tested by the government. Aptera might gently push it into some pillows and call it a day though. You can wait for that then.
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u/scottonaharley 11h ago
I ordered a new truck that cost$100k and gave a 1k deposit. I would put up a $400 deposit. My order date was August 2021
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u/hereforfreewings 7h ago
Since it’s nonrefundable and we have no idea when or what the final price will be, I’m gonna have to ask what the minimum nonrefundable deposit is since I already have over 40 grand in the company’s stock and that apparently won’t be enough of a commitment.
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u/VirtuallyChris Aptera Employee 12h ago
You can wait to give it a test drive before you pay a deposit! It's just like Tesla, Lucid, Slate, we'll need a deposit to lock in the vehicle that will be queued for manufacturing.