Is the Aptera drivetrain change a good thing? 

Same, but I would prefer that they introduced hub motors when the tech is ready. Going with a proven drivetrain is a good move. While AWD is better, I prefer FWD to RWD on a three wheeler.

So do you think the 2,000+ Launch investors are excited about getting a vehicle with no hub motors and most likely a lot less energy efficient?

I am glad I kept my $10k invested in Tesla, I would not be happy either bring promised one thing and now another. I have 2- reservations, I will wait for to see what shakes out.

@@JustToBeThin I doubt that the efficiency will be that much less than hub motors. As for people that were most exited for the hub motors. That is a disappointment.

​@@JustToBeThin I take solace that it will still be far more efficient than most anything. Serviceability remains to be seen either way. One other thing is supply chain dependability, are the hub motor companies healthy? That could be a showstopper if not, or if they couldn't ramp up in time.

We simply don't yet know if they have ditched the all wheel drive. Wait and see.

​@@GullWingInnMoclipsOn their last live stream Chris said driving the rear wheel would require hub motors, which would come later on, implying that they are launching with front wheel drive in-board motors

@@randomcomment9984 Right

If hub motors are not ready , there's little you can do, we need reliability first and foremost. I am disappointed but still want this vehicle. If the inboard motors will work and be the most economical and trouble-free, that's ok.

I ordered all-wheel drive but the Launch Edition now sounds like it will only be FWD since a hub motor is the most practical for the rear wheel. Will the switch alter the turning circle? The vehicle is already wider than an F-150 truck. I'm also disappointed in the lack of a heat pump since a heat pump is basically the addition of a valve to run the A/C in reverse. The most important deciding factor for me will be crash test results.

If, in the future, hub motors were an extra cost option, would we all pay extra? I'm not sure I would. I love the idea of increased efficiency, but I have two concerns. First, will the hub motors require additional maintenance? Second, how secure are they? I live in the city and had a catalytic converter stolen off my Prius. I'm a little nervous about something as expensive as a hub motor just hanging out there. Sure, they wouldn't be as easy to steal as a wheel, but it seems as if they would be less secure than an inboard motor.

Well said!

Well said, every word! Fun fact- the only GM hybrid currently on sale is a Corvette.

@@david.e.h. I've been looking into the future for 3 and 1/2 years. (19 years, if you include the first edition). The problem with that Aptera is that we're always having to look into the future, but it never comes.

@@chriseidam7319 I understand your frustration. I'm the kind of person, if I want something I go out and buy it, simple. But let's go back to the C8 Corvette, Plans to build a mid-engine Corvette were closely held even within GM. Around 2014, the team built a card-access only room inside an already-secure corner of GM’s tech center for the first prototype. And the C8 didn't come out until 2020, and the flat plane crank in the Z06 until 2022. And Zora wanted to make the Corvette mid-engine in 1968. So we had to wait 6 years or 52 years from when Zora proposed it. It took that long for a legacy automaker, with a massive parts bin, money and supply chain to make the C8 Corvette. The big difference is that GM did the development in secret, they didn't share that info with the public. Aptera is trying to be as transparent as they can about what they are doing, and granted there are a great deal that is under NDA and part of negotiations. As a new company in the vehicle production space, the challenges are monumental to get to production. When did Tesla announce the new Roadster? Where is it now? And Tesla has pretty deep pockets and nearly endless resources. I don't think anyone at Aptera thought in the beginning they would be make a vehicle with a carbon tub, and to get the producer of those carbon tubs to be supportive, and now those carbon parts are in Carlsbad ready to be assembled and mated to a battery pack, a bespoke suspension (front and rear), plus all the other bespoke items (all of the exterior lights, body panels, interior panels, wire harnesses, etc., etc,) they don't have a parts bin like GM to pull from. Look at the Lamborghini Diablo, it has Nissan 300zx headlights, Jaguars and Aston Martins are full of Ford parts, look how many different vehicles were made on the Ford Global C Car platform. So when you are building a bespoke vehicle it takes time, focus, connections and money. Sandy Monroe coming to Aptera probably opened all sorts of new channels. 2 moonshot vehicles, the Bugatti Veyron and the VW Phaeton are VW parts bin cars, granted also ton of bespoke parts and engineering. But both took a long time in engineering and both done in secret. Chris and Steve (and everyone at Aptera) is taking our entire community along for the ride, way more transparently than any other vehicle manufacturer. It might happen, it might not happen, but the entire project is further along that it was a year ago, and there were things then , they couldn't share with the public, just as I'm sure there are things they can't share now. Things are happening, if someone had $100,000,000.00 I'm sure things would go faster, so until that happens, let's be patient, and supportive, and start making room in the driveway for our aptera.

@@jeffreypetsinger2967 Finally, some sanity. There are way too many people that are treating this car company like it's a cult. This was a huge change. More importantly, it appears to have been a huge, drawn-out deception to investors and reservation-holders. Frankly, I imagine this is the kind of stuff that leads to fraud lawsuits. I hope it doesn't come to that. But how much can this company deviate from what it promised four years ago and not be called into question? Where does suspension of disbelief end and rational, tough questions begin?

@@casstippit766 1,000% this. It's an image and trust issue more than anything. Asking people to invest money in a vehicle that they think will be AWD with in board motors knowing that it won't. For those that invested before this change was made that was a risk taken. But for those of us who waited to invest more recently it feels like we were swindled a little. I'm still holding final judgement and will wait and see what happens. It's possible they never go into production still and none of this matters.

But we don't actually know if it will end up being a drastic change. If Aptera is able to get the proposed efficiency, range, and performance, then far fewer people will be concerned that they are using a conventional, proven drivetrain.

I also remember hearing from aptera that 97% design (or supplier) had been locked. If the drive train is changed then it would be much more than 3% I still hope they go with hub motors

Going from hub motors to a traditional drivetrain is a drastic change. As to its effect on efficiency, that’s why i specifically said they owe it to us investors to tell us “if it would have any drastic impacts on efficiency”. Nowhere did I say it absolutely would. I’m saying we don’t know. And there in lies the problem. You’re asking people for money based on one set of parameters when you know those aren’t the parameters they are ACTUALLY investing in.

I am an accelerator, so I am a small investor. Most of my investments are not in individual companies, but I do own a few. I choose the companies to invest directly either because I believe the product that company is producing has the possibility to have a big impact on the world, or because I think the management of the company is effectively pursuing a path that will result in them being more successful then, say the S&P 500 average. I hope Aptera checks both of these boxes, but they are still a high risk startup. These small investments do not give me the right to any inside information about the company, or any expectation of influence of product or corporate direction. Aptera is no different. I would expect the top accelerators, who invested millions, may have more direct access to management, and possibly are party to some information about the direction of the product/company. As Steve said on today's video, the thousands of small investors should not expect the management to be completely open about product decisions. I think a likely reason for the change is that when seeking big investors that they need to go into production, they heard the need to minimize risk. They are a new type of vehicle (SEV) with an unusual configuration (3 wheels, 2 seats), that has a dramatically different look from cars on the road today (this is polarizing to customers - I love the look, my wife thinks it is weird and doesn't like it at all ). The two other entrants in this space have already failed. If you were going to put down 50 or 60 mil, would you encourage Aptera to include an unproven drive train that virtually no other vehicle on the road uses? I would say let's eliminate risk where we can. I personally think in wheel motors will someday be common, but they are not today. Those of us who have followed Aptera for some time are of course disappointed - but we are early adopters and risk tolerant by nature. Plus we are follow Aptera VERY closely. Besides us, only car nerds are even aware of in wheel motors. If Aptera is successful, it will be because people who haven't heard of Aptera yet, like it an buy it. They will not care about the drive train, other than it functions well and is reliable. The little that Aptera has said about the drive train is that it is widely used, and per Chris M, "better in almost every way" than the Elaphe solution. I for one, will not second guess Aptera management.

You said smart with the motor change, or did you mean misleading and devious?

Well said! If this is the time for Aptera Motors to publicly move on from hub motors to meet the overarching goal of getting our Apterae into production while keeping them affordabile, then let’s accept it and move on to the next best thing. Can’t wait to be driving my Aptera and to see many on the road.

@@stix2you Smart? Where's your evidence that it was smart? You're running on supposition. The CEOs haven't told us anything... except for that they haven't told us anything, but they'll tell us soon. It's funny how they didn't bring this up before they closed out that last round of retail investing.

I agree with most of your points. And I am clinging to hope that they can keep hub motors. It seems like such an elegant drive train design - no axles, no CV joints, etc.

Spot on. Aptera has been a cult with more money than sense for a while now.

I hope so. I was just saying, I suppose I can live without hub motors, but I really NEED the All Wheel Drive. And it would be fun to have just 1 hub motor.

There is also the efficiency reductions from having more than one motor. I think Kia has a motor disengagement clutch for the front motor, in order to increase efficiency. Having one motor at the front, it should bypass this concern.

could cruising on a single rear hub motor make the car prone to fishtailing? I'm not an engineer or car guy really, so...

@@TimThavirat No, not really.

​@@TimThaviratno; you're looking at under 20hp at highway speed, even when accelerating in normal driving

Thanks for mentioning. Our interview with Elaphe CEO part 1 is finalized and in final review. We expect it to be released some time this week. Part 2 shortly after. It will cover a lot of questions that are discussed in the community, the comments here on YT and what Steve mentioned in this video. Plus after part 2 we will release a constructively critical video to help everybody understand the automotive development process and why and when Aptera Motors may have taken the decision about the drivetrain. Hope you will enjoy it ...

@@apterasolar Thanks for putting this together, been waiting for this interview since you first mentioned that your channel would be releasing. Again, if you are able to, perhaps schedule the time the interview might be available as there is so much interest in this topic and it might get your channel more subscribers too.

Assuming it just isn't more guess work or misdirection.

Stomp your feet and hold your breath... that usually works. There was plenty of speculation about the possibility that there would be no hub motors prior to the closing of the investor window. Their plans evidently had to change to fit the reality of bringing this unique vehicle to market. I'm fine with that, and only a fool would feel betrayed by progress towards production. If you don't like the final design, you don't have to buy it. If you made an investment based on the assumption that nothing would change from the original vision, that's on you.

@@GullWingInnMoclipsMuch of it is timing. Had I made the investment 2 years ago before they knew about this change. I'd be disappointed but not a big deal. But many people made the investment recently believing that in-wheel motors were part of the production vehicle especially so close to production. They 100% new about this change and didn't tell their potential investors. We can't know for sure when they knew but clearly anyone like myself who waited until mid-June to invest, were advertised a vehicle they knew wasn't the one going to production. Vital information that potential investors should have had. Final point. I'm personally still glad I made the investment. I want Aptera to succeed and continue to support them. But I'm also able to be a skeptic and critical thinker and understand that this decision to hold this information was a bad one and looks bad. It's ok to disagree with them even if you support them. That's all most of us are doing.

You assume that they knew that Elaphe would not work out (at least in the short term). I don't think that is true. I think that even though they planned for a secondary drivetrain, that they were hoping that Elaphe would work out. But it hasn't. And now we know. It sounds like Elaphe may still work out in the long term, like the belly cooling, heat pump, etc.. So you are welcome to wait. But I want my Aptera in 2025, and I am not focused on in-wheel motors or AWD as a deal-breaker. I would even say that most likely if Aptera waited for the Elaphe drivetrain issues to get worked out, Aptera may have never reached production. This way, there is a better chance that volume production will begin in 2025, the company will fill reservation orders, they will do the IPO, and I can always sell my 1st gen Aptera to get the updated 2nd gen one, with most or all of the promised features. Many people wanted the $39K Cybertruck as well, but we know how that worked out.

@@deanmcmanis9398 ONe has to take into consideration that Aptera now has master casts for their production shells. so the real question is: are the body parts able to accommodate both versions? Hub motors vs an inside the vehicle somewhere (assuming we will have to sacrifice the room in the front. So all the mount points will have to have been engineered almost 2 years in advance. this wasn't a last minute decision, nor one made this year (unless they did plan for the worst and plan out for both versions as they were developing the molds with CPC).

@@GullWingInnMoclips The nice thing about this forum is that most people don't make personal, snarky comments. Most people. Be respectful.

The ability to support AWD is a critical juncture. A small motor with a belt drive might be acceptable.

@@johnvoules7447 Amen, brother. I ordered mine in May of 2021 and was told I would have it at the beginning of the next year. I didn't believe it for a moment. But I never thought I'd be waiting this long. And for a lot less than I was told I would get.

@@1voluntaryist So what you mean to say is that you're not an investor?

Nobody actually drives their Ferraris 😂

Your point is well written. A 'neutral' and thoughtful analysis of the Aptera progression is valued. Personally I feel time can be wasted in limiting transparency. There is valuable intelligent analysis by we, the enthusiasts, in dissecting the elements of the vehicle as it evolves. If I were CEO I would listen and gain a greater perspective, with the hope of reducing wasted time and energy, and I believe, generally, Chris and Steve do..

There's not much collision risk when you're not allowed to drive it on public roads in the UK.

@@Okurka. Is that true? That it will not be street legal in the UK?

@@chriseidam7319 It's classified as an L5e 3-wheeler; they can't be wider than 2000 mm (78.75 inches); the Aptera is 2235 mm (88 inches) wide. For comparison: A Hummer H1 is 86.5 inches wide; a Cybertruck is 80 inches wide.

@@ThomasMincarelli-fj8cu I'm in the same boat as you. I need all-wheel drive in southern New England. Especially since I'm an avid backpacker who drives out on dirt roads , some that haven't been maintained in years. This car is supposed to give me freedom from worry about search driving conditions, not add to it. As far as your Subaru, if it's hit the $100,000 mile mark I would be careful. I've known for a long time that they're very expensive to repair and they start falling apart at 80,000 mi. I have a friend that's replaced multiple wheel bearings on an Outback before he reached 80,000 miles. I ran across a recent article on some data of which car brands are the most-expensive to maintain over a 5-year span. Subaru was in the top five, with Porsche, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, if I recall. We bought a 2015 Impreza for my wife because they were the safest cars in that class. But it was not a good car. The CD player was rarely used he had it broke down at 30,000 miles. There was something really weird about the accelerator and the CVT transmission. It was a lot of lag before the car would start to move. The whole time that we owned it, I warned her that Subarus are expensive to fix and you shouldn't keep them longer than 80,000 miles. I eventually talked her into getting a 2021 Bolt when they were practically giving them away right before the battery recall. We got a premiere at almost half off. It was the car deal of a lifetime. And I love driving it. I'd been expecting to get my Aptera two years ago. I was driving an old Prius as a holdover that didn't look great and was probably impacting my sales production. I could have bought a brand new car, but I had my apteron order, so that would make any sense, right? I finally caved and bought a cleaner, less-old Prius Plug-in to hold me over until the Aptera arrives, whenever that happens, if ever. I was somewhere around number 7000th to order a vehicle, but based on all the delays, I think I'll be way in the back of the line of the 47,000 reservation-holders. And you're going to be right there with me. They won't make our version for years to come. If ever.

I am in WNC as well. Nice to hear another local is interested. I am a little skeptical it will do well over some of our gravel roads but as far as the occasional camping or biking trip then I wouldn't be so worried.

@@te8547e Remember when they first told us that the car was going to do 0 to 60 and 3 and 1/2 seconds? I bet everybody's forgotten that by now. The only thing I've been able to figure about the deal going bad is that Aptera needed to buy 20,000 motors for their agreement with a Elaphe to be binding. I found that in the May SEC filing by Aptera. Think about it. If each motor costs $1,000, they'd have to come up with $20 million just to deal with the motors, never mind all of the other parts that go into the car. Maybe it was a deal-breaker.

Will a single motor remove the need to govern top speed at 101? A top speed of 125, 150, or higher might be a little spooky. I just want to shame my brother’s Mustang.

@@dougandersen645true. Hub motors limited the top speed. It could go faster.

I'm not a fan of the inboard solution, but it eliminates the cooling and power cables and replaces them with a single shaft. I think that will improve aero, not hurt it.

They can still do torque vectoring with FWD if they are using two inboard motors. But ultimately, many other affordable EVs have FWD or RWD only models. I don't care about top speed above 100MPH at all. But I do want brisk acceleration plus the alternate choice of super efficiency.

​​​@@deanmcmanis9398I hope there are 2 motors since I doubt they can do Torque Vectoring with only one. Having driven an Arcimoto FUV the Torque Vectoring really helps.

Especially this one with beautiful scenery - much better than the desert :0

The problem seems to be Elaphe's ability to produce the motors, not the design itself.

@@robertkirchner7981 Where did you hear that? I hadn't seen that. I did see in Aptera's May SEC filing that the deal with Elaphe required Aptera to buy 20,000 motors before it had a binding contract with Elaphe. That, I suspect, could be the true reason for the change in motor companies.

Heard that several times but nobody provided a link to the original source / podcast / video where Sands Munro actually says that. Would be very happy to get help here. Thanks!

@@e-economy- Yes I have looked for it myself, I might follow up with the Apt EV Podcast creator to see if he can share the link to this conversation.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HGk2v9K5pJE.html

​@@bertrandp2977 Thx! Aptera discussed @21:02, then again (hub motors) @25:16.

@@bertrandp2977 thank you so much! This is a confirmation if Sandy knew about it 10 months ago then the BinC should have been designed with the possibility of both drive systems.

@@JEP-Tech Apparently, they decided to make this change 10 months ago and didn't tell us. A lot of posters said they saw Sandy Monro discuss it 10 months ago in a video. That means that they probably designed the body parts to accommodate that change, if they didn't build it in from the start. That means that they lied to us. They lied that they were going to have all-wheel drive on the launch models. I go through Hell to be a person who rarely lies. No joke, I might only lie five or six times in a year, and often that lie is not to cover my myself but to be polite to somebody else. All of my employers hated that about me. My stepdad's last, dying words were, "The problem with you Chris is that you're too honest." I'm not sure exactly what he meant, but I think what he meant is that my exceptional dedication to honesty and integrity was causing me a lot of frustration and holding me back professionally. He was not a criminal type. He was a harmless retired art teacher who was very popular. I'm in sales and I cannot stand lying salespeople. It makes my job much harder. Much, much harder. In fact, of all the things that could make my job harder, my competing sales people lying has got to be the thing that makes it hardest of all. Naturally, that dedication to honesty makes me very frustrated with what's been going on lately. Vent, vent, vent.

@@chriseidam7319 I was similarly disillusioned about Hylion lying about the viability of their hybrid natural gas trucks. They went on several podcasts proclaimimg that they were moving forward with their ERX trucks, then literally the next day they said they completely stopped the projects and were focusing entirely on their KARNO generators and no longer going to build power trains for trucks despite getting all the regulatory approvals for them in California. Their share price tanked as a result. Aptera was upfront about the belly pan cooling change, this is something they should have been upfront about as well. Same crap was done with the Sondors Metacycle I pre-ordered, after they took pre-orders more and more things about their initial design and promises changed so I cancelled my pre-order early on. I was glad I did, because the final product was terrible. The biggest selling point it had was that it was supposed to have a readily removable battery pack so you can take it with you, but that was the last thing removed and no one knew it until they got their motorcycles. The range was worse than advertised so without the removable battery pack I wouldn't have been able to even use it as commuter motorcycle. Now Sondors is going bankrupt. It's not good business to hide major changes like this from your customers and investors. There's a careful balance between revealing too much and not enough. It seems most companies error on the side of lies and secrecy.

@@tims8603 They didn't even send you an email notification?

@@chriseidam7319 You mean about changing my reservation? No.

@@tims8603 That's outrageous. I've never heard of any company in any line of work ever doing that while able to maintain the appearance of being a legitimate company. That's the kind of thing criminal companies do.

@@chriseidam7319 It's not a big deal. The reservation is just a placeholder. When/if my number comes up, I'll be able to change anything to what's available. That won't be for 2 or 3 years. My number is in the 38,000 range.

@@tims8603 Oh boy. If you're number 38,000, you've got a long wait ahead of you. I'm roughly number 7,000. But of course, they're giving priority to all of the Accelerators, the UAE customers, and the earliest investors. That's pushing me all the way back by thousands of spots. For the version I ordered, I'm not expecting this car for YEARS AND YEARS. I was told I was going to take delivery in 2020. Then 2021. Then 2022. Then 2023. Then 2024. Then 2025 would see the earliest deliveries,. If then. Big "if". And already, it looks like they're blowing past that recently promised timeline, too. There's not enough finished and ready on the car to test it and start making real deliveries next year, as far as I can tell, based on the history of this startup. Aptera does not even have a final design, yet. That's alarming. IF they're going to actually build that car for me, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm pushed all the way back to 2028. Obviously, I'm not waiting that long for this car. Seven years? Hell no! How many reservationists are going to wait that long for this car? They might say they will, but many are going to need another car before then, and the way electric cars are built, if they get any EV that car will last a long time and they will have no reason to replace it with a Johnny-come-lately Aptera, especially if they already have solar on their home to charge an EV. When they announced yet another delay to the deliveries back in May, I finally lost my enthusiasm for this company. Up to that time, I was so excited about it that I was trying to talk a bunch of friends into considering making an investment and considering the purchase of the vehicle. No more. After that announcement, I called everybody up and told them not to bother - it now looked sketchy, with all of the radical changes and all of the delays. I got so frustrated at that point that I had given up on ever getting an Aptera and was ready to pay cash for a Hyundai Ioniq 6 SEL in May when Hyundai was selling them for only $35,000, with 360 miles of range. My wife was not on board. She wants me to wait. I had to get an old Prius plug-in instead. I really, really, REALLY didn't want to have to buy another used car after I ordered the Aptera. Yeah, I'm frustrated. I'm 60. I don't expect to see 70. I'm not waiting forever for Aptera to get its act together. Likewise, I'm tired of the complicity of the Aptera cultists. This isn't a religion. It's a consumer product. Nothing more. Stop rationalizing all of the delays and radical design changes for what seems to be the worse. Stop making excuses for the deception. When Aptera tried to stick us with obsolete 50-kilowatt charging speed, the community rose up and made a holler. That design change was rejected. Where are those folks today? Shouldn't they be mad that we weren't told about this dramatic change before the last big push for Reg A investing started? Aptera has known for at least 10 months they were making this change, but they didn't tell their consumers nor investors until I started the stink about the Elaphe logo missing in the background where all the other logos of vendors were displayed. That was me who first noticed and posted about it here. (Hooray for my journalism degree from UF, where I excelled in investigative reporting). I haven't seen anything reassuring from Aptera since.

@@tigerstallion Austin ran into the unsprung weight problem when it designed the Miini in the 1960s, and what it came up with was a suspension that used stacked rubber cones instead of springs. It worked great. I'm sure the patent has expired long ago. I'm wondering why they're not looking into that option if that has been a problem with the design.

I’m surprised you’re the only one saying this. Most relevant comment on this video right here.

Yes! A lot of things will need to be changed.

I prefer the front wheels pulling the vehicle than the solo back wheel doing all the work. But, yes Solar power and aero are the main thing about the aptera.

My biggest concern isn't the in-wheel motors per say it's the AWD system. IF the Launch Edition doesn't have AWD I will have to hold my place in line in the hopes that it's coming soon. I want Aptera to succeed long term. I really do, even if FWD only. I'm just sad I won't be getting one. That disappointment is what I'm having to deal with. So knowing I won't be getting one now has lessened my enthusiasm considerably. My hope is that I'm wrong and that they will have AWD at launch. However Chris did say they need an in-wheel motor for the rear wheel so I'm not expecting it.

Because a single in board motor will use a mechanical differential to split the power between the wheels you will likely see a significant traction improvement in slippery conditions over hub motors. A rear wheel might be nice but 99% of use cases will not see an appreciable difference in real world performance. It's a known fact that good snow tires on a 2WD significantly outperform four season tires on an AWD car, and that's with four wheels! This just isn't the hill to die on.

Yes if it's not all wheel drive that pretty much makes it a motorcycle for all states that have below freezing weather. In the united states. Or if you want to take it camping in remote areas. Going up the mountain roads in Colorado ect. To go camping. And having more charge than when you got there. No all wheel drive no purchase from me. And many others. Will make it a niche machine. For sure.

@@thisisme379 yep, this! I can confirm this as an experienced auto mechanic. This may actually improve the car, I just hadn't considered this as a realistic option until now. Also, two drive wheels on the front with 66% of the weight, dragging only one rear wheel? This may be the ideal balance between traction, cost, and efficiency. And I agree, a mechanical front diff may actually perform better than a software driven front differential. As you say, not the hill to die on, excellent point.

​@thisisme379 2wd "known " better than 4wd/Awd??? Wtf? Having lived where there is snow, ice, slush on the roads from October thu March , that has NEVER been the case.

You could offer to buy others' shares at small discount. An exit for them and more for you :-)

I hope they have had this change in mind a long time ago, if not , then there may be more delays before production/deliveries will start.

Induction motors now and a hub motor for the rear in the future is actually an improvement in many ways. This configuration allows for even higher efficiency and reduces immediate / supply / maintenance risk of unproven hub motor tech.

Fun Fact: Aptera never calls their 3-wheeler a 'car'.

@@stealth9639 What do you mean by "philosophy"? What is the philosophy of that company? I never saw anything about it, and I am legitimately curious. I am not being snarky. I wish I had your enthusiasm. I lost it after the May announcement that they were pushing the timeline back another year. And now even that timeline looks impossible to achieve, only two months after they pitched it. Meanwhile, other companies are working on their solar vehicle designs. It's very possible that Aptera will not be the first company to successfully mass produce a vehicle. I suspect a Chinese company will beat them to the punch, at this point. As it is, Aptera keeps claiming to be the first company to create a mass production solar powered car, but that's a lie. Lightyear already did it, even though it only made a handful of delivered vehicles. It still be Aptera to the punch. The Aptera execs need to stop telling that lie, especially in light of all the disappointments that have happened this year.

Well said!

I feel sorry for Accelerators. This major change was obviously in the works for a long time. I don't trust these guys.

@@montanaerdoc Yeah, I was the guy that first noticed the logo was missing in the big May video. I posted hair and it took off like wildfire. Aptera has marketed itself as a better company. But they're not proving it. Your mouthpieces are very persuasive and sound reassuring. But when you look at the results, they're terrible. One poster here mentioned that he lived near the original Aptera company location and he talked to people who work there who said it would never succeed. That's not the first time I've heard of somebody talking to Aptera employees who said it wasn't going to work. In fact, Steve brought that up recently in one of his videos, that he has kept in touch with former employees, and they do not paint a hopeful picture.

Axial Flux motors at first blush seem to be a better fit for EVs. Mercedes is planning to use Yasa's design for Axial Flux in-wheel motors for their electric vehicles. But of course, not yet tested/proven in actual production vehicles in real world testing. Koenigsegg has an electric motor they define as a Rexial motor which combines the benefits of both designs of EV motors (Axial and Radial flux) The motor not yet proven in production. My personal assessment, in-wheel motors of any design still an R&D item. To soon to use in production. So for Aptera, possibly a good decision not to use them at this time. Does NOT forgive a non reveal to accelerator investors.

#howcanmakethisaboutme

That is not a new problem with Aptera. If you get some ice buildup in the wheel wells, just whack those wheel wells with your gloved fist. Those wheel wheels flex easily, allowing any frozen slush to break free.. That worked like a charm on my old VW Passatt.

So Aptera knew this for 10 months without warning future investors?

@@peterjordan3135 Why couldn't they get them? I think I know why. I saw in the mate SEC filing that in order to get a single motor from Elaphe they have to buy 20,000 of them up front before their agreement with the latte is binding. I don't know what those motors cost each, but if they're $1,000 each, that's 20 million at Tara would have to come up with to begin production just for the motors. Just for the motors. That was probably the deal-breaker

We do not know. If they still hit their efficiency goals, and eventually come out with an AWD model later. Few people will be upset overall.

And big investors get this information, do they still wanna be big investors after having that information

@@shrimptopian3392 Making such a severe change so late in the process is a huge red flag. This isn't an inconsequential change. This puts the motor right in the center of the nose. They are already having issues with thermal management and abandoned their skin cooling (something that would never have worked anyway). The vehicle has a limited amount of space to put pumps and compressors to begin with... but that's not even my biggest issue with their design. From the start this vehicle had a huge issue with thermal management... dating back to their thermal failure back in 2009 at the Progressive competition. Back then, the vehicle actually had vents. Inadequate vents... but it had them. For some reason Aptera decided that this was the hill they wanted to die on... and die on it they will. To my knowledge, to this date the car has no air conditioning. That's a problem. So if anyone is thinking in investing in this, I'd insist on seeing a production prototype that can drive around with the AC on. Until they can do that... they don't really have a car... now do they?

@@keithjacobson4493 I didn't see it, but I was aware of it. That news is what I expected. That other manufacturers are going to bring something like this to the market before Aptera and all of us will have wasted our emotional and financial investments in this company.

Don't knock Spam sushi... I make a Spam/cucumber maki that everyone who has tried raves about.

@@lsh3rd But would you pay fine-sushi prices for Spam sushi?

@@chriseidam7319 I wouldn’t since I can just make it at home.

I doubt a U.S. Capital issue as they have joined recently and the in-wheel motor issue, according to the Sany video, has been around at least from August of last year. U.S. Capital may be concerned about not revealing the issue for some time and required Aptera to fess up so their campaign(s) wouldn't represent some implication of deceit to their investors.

Well said!

@@yoobb Geez. Do you work for Aptera's PR company? You're belittling some big changes. Losing all wheel drive in New England is a deal-breaker for me. I have to cancel my order if I don't get all-wheel drive. I'm an early investor and an early reservation-holder, and I will probably lose my investment I will probably never get this car I've been trying to get for 19 years. Sorry, but I can't stand the cultishness of some people here, and I'm pointing the finger at you. Is there anything Aptera can do wrong that will draw your ire? So far, we've lost all wheel drive, hub motors, 3.5 second 0 to 60 time, belly pain cooling, the deluxe stereo, paint... I know I'm forgetting some things. Are you still going to be high on the company when they say they decided to turn into a unicycle? What concerns me is that they keep redesigning the vehicle and never complete the design. This is the same thing Canoo is doing and it's been a disaster. They need to be honest with their customers and their investors. You can see the frustration has been building up for the past 2 months. I was completely on board and drinking the Kool-Aid in April. That may video with no Elaphe logo was a real gut-shot for me. It not only told me that the design was not complete,and that the timeline would be pushed back even further than they were telling us in the video in May, but that the vehicle was not going to drive at all like I expected. People can say it's no big deal, but losing that rear wheel motor simply makes it impossible for me to own this car in New England. I already tried to buy another EV in May because Hyundai was giving away the Ioniq Six SEL. My wife insisted on me waiting a little bit longer. In my mind, I'm already gone. I lost my investment money. I'm never getting the car I've been trying to get for 19 years. I've been in sales for over 40 years. You just don't make that many misrepresentations and broken promises and broken timelines. I'm dealing with it at work. I love my employers, but they really screwed me royally recently. I found a deal that was going to make us $300,000. They needed to put together the proposal. They told my prospective customer, a guy who was very excited, that they would have the proposal for him within a few days. It took approximately 45 days. The guy is going cold on me. He was ready to sign, but by the time we got it to him he wasn't willing to sign on the spot. Even worse, my boss tried to get me to make up an excuse for the delay. I refuse to lie, and I was shocked he asked me to misrepresent things to a customer. It wasn't a major thing. It was small. But it was still not the direct reason for the delay. He had never done that before and that was the reason I still worked for him. It was a letdown. It's happened to me at every place I've worked in this particular industry. Management is trying to get me to lie for them to customers. And they didn't even follow my specific instructions on a couple of points that were crucial. I had to keep asking him to fix the proposal that was overdue. Under promise. Over deliver. Meet all of your timelinrs. It's really not that hard to do those things to be successful. If a company can do those three things, that's half the battle to being successful. Professionals in sales know you don't put people through the ringer like this for this long and expect to get the sale. I think after I was going to get a lot of people canceling. Not now. Later on, when it sets in that they really aren't going to get all wheel drive on the car they ordered with all-wheel drive.

What's your minimum avg acceptable solar miles/day, 365 day basis? Don't list your address, but what is nearest big city? I'll help give you a good estimate.

@@artsmith103 Atlanta area. I looked it up last year, but I've forgotten what it said.

@@RBickersjr okay, I'll work something up. Might be a day or two. Not using Aptera calculator, they are not honest about derating for trike geometry.