Wall Street Journal, Aptera and Crowdfunding 

"Slick social media" They're talking about you, Steve! They're talking about YOU! Gonna have to start calling you "Slick."

If Aptera underwent the WSJ scrutiny and this article was the worst they had to say about them...that seems pretty good to me. "Praising by faint damnation"?

If the wall street journal hates it that alone is reason for me to invest... i'm in!

Meanwhile, the "smart money" invested in Fisker, Lucid, and Faraway Future.

To me $250 k is very reasonable for a CEO types. Even more so considering their location. As an engineer I was making $130k.

I invested in Aptera as I do want the vehicle. I hope to make money but getting the vehicle comes first. I sense Steve and Chris feel the same way.

sorta funny first they ignore u then they laugh at u then they fight u then u win

An efficient electric solar car may just scare the bejeezus out of the powers that be.

A lot of smart money went into Lordstown.

There's a REASON that Aptera has had one of the most successful crowd funding efforts in history, a lot of it due to thier forthright and honest methods of information dissemination.

I would also add that I was at boxable this last May for a tour there and the first thing I noticed was the fancy Rolls-Royce that was sitting out front additionally, during the tour we heard this loud engine sound and was told that that was the owner playing around with his race car that he has in the parking lot?

Great video Steve! Speaking for myself, I don't think the majority of the aptera investors invested thinking they were going to make their own lives better, but to make the world a better place. A $1000 investment would have to make a 20x (or more) gain to appreciably change someone's life, and it might have to be a 50x-100+x to be a huge game changer for someone, considering the amount of time for the return on investment. I personally want to be part of a story that makes the world a better place. I want to support people I believe in (everyone at Aptera, that I've ever come across was awesome). I don't design vehicles, I don't engineer vehicles, I don't manufacturer vehicles, I don't know much about solar technology, but I can invest something to support those that do those things to hopefully become successful.

To give context to people who don't live in California, I'm a teacher in San Francisco, CA and I make 100k per year. I can pay for living expenses without worrying too much, but I have to budget in order to save. 200k for engineering founders with families and mortgages is very very reasonable.

I agree that 250k in SD isnt fleecing people from their money, but it’s absolutely more than comfortable. I’m sure their net worth is pretty decent considering they have multiple start ups in the past

I've been through 2 of my own startups and they never really got to take off and I lost tens of thousands of dollars. Doesn't make me any less enthusiastic when I back other start ups because I like the idea of what the people are trying to do.

Thank you Steve for this thoughtful commentary. I am proud to be an @apteramotors investor and accelator. I am not doing so because I think I will make huge returns and am willing to lose it all, but because I believe in Aptera's vision to transform transportation. I have never bought a new vehicle and I prefer bicycle commuting to driving ( and none of my family's bikes were bought new either). I don't think that Aptera is the only solution, as we also need less people to drive and more investment in greenways, bike/pedestrian infrastructure and public transit, but is an important step towards transforming transportation, and one that the US, the Wall Street Journal, and its investment class are not interested in supporting. Without Crowdfunding @Apteramotors would not exist, and those investing in Aptera are investing in a better future for our planet.

It's from the perspective of Wall Street brokers, bankers, and investment banks. Wall Street doesn't like the competition of crowd funding. They would much prefer that the working class rabble stay in their place and invest in mutual funds to enrich Wall Street through their 401k and IRA plans. Thank you very much. As in the Texas, Bless your heart. ;)

While I am a huge Aptera Fan, calling their Social Media promotions "sleek" is one of the most generous uses of the word sleek I have seen. Edit: I am not saying this in a bad way. I would be worried if they had sleek social media. A good comms team (which Aptera has) is better then a sleek social media team. This is not a product for tweens.

I object to being called a rookie, too. I passed the Series 7. Never did anything with it, but it's not like I don't understand the concepts, or the massive risk involved in an automotive startup.

Glad to see the article. Seems like any sensible mind would look into Aptera and find that it holds muster quite well. The idea is great. I personally have some issues on design aspects but that doesn't change the fact of their transparency, the integrity and desire to achieve the goal. I think the article will give a positive spin. Free advertising baby!

At first, I was a bit annoyed at the nonsense of the 'big expose', however, it's positive actually - for two reasons. 1. If APTERA wasn't visible to the media, it wouldn't have been mentioned. APTERA is visible and that is good. More news is good news. 2. If more questions pop up to challenge APTERA, as a result of it being mentioned next to a bad actor, that is good as well as it gives the great APTERA team an opportunity to overcome the negative enquiry as well as promote the car and company. All good. All in my personal, humble opinion. Thanks Steve

Same answer: Full speed ahead on the PI’s. Get the product to speak for itself and you don’t have to listen to anything else.

Speaking as a mere reservation holder, I think that to the Aptera faithful, it is a shared vision. I don't mean it negatively, but it it still has the two guys, who aren't going to give up, developing it in their garage, going to change the world feel to it. I think that any future deep pocket investors in Aptera are likely going to be believers in the vision, and it really doesn't matter what the WSJ thinks.

Thanks for covering this story and putting it in perspective. We all knew investing in a startup company has a lot of risk. I still believe they have a great new product that I am excited to support. Go Aptera!!!! $SUNA

I was disappointed in WSJ for doing this, and lumping Aptera with Boxabl. I’m invested in both and now feel cheated by Boxabl but still have great belief in Aptera. Back in 2021, I was interviewed by WSJ about Tesla and Elon Musk and at the end of the interview I told the reporter about Aptera. She ended up doing a lovely story about Aptera and was one of Aptera’s first major newspaper mentions. I don’t think that reporter is with WSJ anymore.

I find the c level salaries very reasonable. These guys are no longer I their 30's and have to travel the world to pitch to wealthy people. It's awkward and distracting if you're in a position where you have to be super mindful of what you are spending personally. They need to be focused on the mission, without going overboard while being cash strapped. They struck a good balance.

They have also brought a number of companies up from nothing multiple times.

The Roadster II was actually announced in 2011. I have had a lot of experience with EV startups, including the Ford Pivco Th(i)nk, the Corbin Sparrow -(both of which I was a supplier for), and startups such as Elio Motors, which my due diligence identified as a fraud back in the day. Aptera Motors is certainly doing better than Tesla was during the same length of time after startup. There is no reason for someone to invest in Aptera for pure financial reasons at this point as far as I can see. However, the world needs a product like Aptera along with many other more efficient ways of living. Business as usual will continue to steal from our children's future. As always, thanks for letting us know your continued due diligence.

Using Boxable as a stalking horse is a gift to Aptera!

Aptera could potentially be a great investment long term but it is important to realize failure for a startup is always an option. Investors need to weigh the risks and odds of further investment keeping the wheels on the bus until profitability. With Aptera many investors also have skin in the game because they want to ensure that the company succeeds and delivers the unique vehicle that we all want but I don't see it as a charity but it is a risk. If production scales and people realize that an efficient 2 seater makes sense for them (seniors, students, or a vehicle of 2 for a couple) then Aptera could do very well financially.

How many hours a year do you think Steve and Chris are putting in for Aptera? Tons!!!

Very fair and insightful thoughts Steve, thank you for your time.

$250k is absolutely reasonable for a CEO in a high cost of living area like San Diego. There are companies that are publicly traded, not performing well, but paying their CEOs much, much more. Well why would anyone be okay with that?

Of course I could be wrong but honestly I feel really good about aptera. There surely are some things I see quite critically and things i'd do differently. Of course I wish progress would be faster and I feel that we have to make it to some big milestones soon. But overall I trust the team at aptera to get this thing into production. I also do not think that Aptera is trying to overhype their product on social media. In fact I believe that they could do way more to spread their vision.

Dumb money describes me so perfectly. The $@!t smart money does leaves me feeling pretty darn sick. I'm proud to be dumb ☺️. I'm happy Aptera wants my dumb money. I feel honored to be counted among all the Aptera investors cuz so far I find them all really kind. Thank you 🙏, Steve.

Oh , the article isnt telling us something we don't know . Of course we don't know much , be we know something and the company keeps us informed . Yes it's a risk but California thought enough of them to get a big matching fund .

Isn't WSJ lying right off the bat? The headline says they're raising "billions" implying that each "risky" startup is raising billions, then we immediately find out it is in the millions. The article seems to be designed specifically to create bad vibes, and to influence people who only read the headline -- which is most people. It seems like this is a hit piece designed to go after low-information investors in order to damage Aptera, probably on behalf of people with a significant stake in something that could be harmed by Aptera. Things like this get quoted without detail and context by the MSM, thus amplifying those bad vibes. Edit: Also note the unfair linking of Boxabl with Aptera.

WSJ actually has a relevant point and you Steve in this video highlighted exactly why.... Aptera have struggled to find an investor willing to hand over a large sum of money. For those of you 'invested', be warned. IF Aptera decide to undermine your current share values by discounting a huge amount of shares to a priority shareholder or decide to increase the amount of total shares in an offering THEN....you will see your initial invest values evaporate.

I'm surprised there was no mention of the 'Elio' here !

Rivian is losing over a billion dollars every quarter, all of that is 'smart money'.

"struggle to generate sales" ...with 47 THOUSAND pre-orders. 🤣

The Aptera CEO salaries are probably justified based on their prior pay

So, they are, but they aren't criticizing aptera. They are putting them in an article that is critical of crowdfunding, but they aren't saying anything particularly bad about aptera. BUT they are linking the 2 together. Talk about being slick. Doesn't surprise me given that WSJ is owned by Rupert Murdoch, owner of FOX Talk which is part of extreme right. The WSJ has not been the respectable newspaper that it once was a long time ago now. As for Chris and Steve's salary, it is fine considering how much work they are doing and how much of their own money they have put into the company to restart it.

I agree that crowdfunding is the threat to VC, hedge fund and private fund. It is like democracy replacing royalty. This democracy in investing will grow more mature and create an industry of crowdfunding financial advisors. But to improve, Aptera should be more open and direct with their supporters. A better IR is a good place to start.

Is it "Dumb" to make a Profit? I Bet ("Invested") Money that I could Afford to lose, for an Effort that I hold to be Admirable. I want this to Happen!

“Maybe I’m not the best judge of character”. I read a study that suggests that those who say that they are a good judge of character are more likely to be sociopaths or psychopaths. So for now Steve, you are safe 😅. Keep the content rolling!

Woah. Did not expect these two worlds to collide.. Love Boxabl!!!!!! ❤

Any press is good press. Seemed like part of the wsj issue was that Apteras vehicles were unrealistically efficient...it's tough being disruptive. ;)

Soooooo soooo MANY good comments here! Kudos to ALL of you here!

Good for Aptera. Every publicity, as the saying goes, is good publicity.

Murdoch - the propaganda arm of modern conservative politics, has a vested interest in not seeing Aptera succeed. Nothing will challenge fossil fuel companies more than this! Let’s all make sure that it succeeds!! The world needs it!

Sleek social media campaigns does not match what I see from Aptera. They don’t have a huge marketing department or budget. What they release in terms of social media does not resemble what I consider to be a sophisticated, calculated campaign. My impression is their emphasis is the engineering and marketing.

"No cars in sight" ... can we all say red herring? Let's cast doubt on Aptera's intentions. Who does that help? Is Elon funding this article? Peter Lynch suggested that we find companies that provide great service and/or products and invest in them. Agreed, Aptera is stretch due to no finished product. However, Aptera's roadmap looks like it's taking more time than advertised, but they are following the roadmap and making progress. I am biased. I believe Aptera intends to execute on their promise if they can.

Legacy investors hate retail investors. The Wall Street Journal is written for legacy investors

17:00 I feel the same Steve

Thank you for this. I have been looking into investing into Aptera. As dumb money I understand that I will be able to turn my $1000 into $100 million 😂

Lucid's pay to Peter Rowlinson makes all this CEO pay irrelevant by comparison.

I think Steve's right, this WSJ piece is great for the contrast between the two companies. With that said did anyone notice Sandy Munro did a video with Boxabl?

Aptera has a sleek vehicle design and is a rookie company IN A ROOKIE INDUSTRY.

Does this article surprise anyone? I worked with the reporter while at the Dallas Morning News. I’d tell him I’m an accelerator, but I dont care and I’m sure he wouldn’t either. Everyone has their priorities. He HAS to produce a large volume of articles that I’m sure are directed towards the vision they want to push. Facts can be made to look any way they want to push an agenda. BTW, I remember that Sarah Hardwick was making $100k more that both CEO’s.

I support good journalism, but having read this piece, it fell far short. Lumping the two companies together and making generalizations about them was sloppy at best. Making vague insinuations suggesting that Aptera as a company is somehow bad, while offering exactly zero evidence to support that premise, is inexcusable.

In Aptera's case, this is typical mainstream criticism of independent success, particularly with products or companies who have real potential for positive impact. Misconstrued information, exaggerations, or actual lies rather than facts or truth! Little to no credibility in the source.

Slick Steve, old Wall Street types called the investment bankers, and institutional investors the smart money, all others became dumb money by default. In fact, information is everywhere, and smart "slick" folks how to use the information, and understand how interpret said information. Smart money doesn't play games, and day trading is a recipe for bankruptcy. However, long term investments of leading edge technology usually have been rewarded. Aptera fits that, but it's definitely different, and money shys away from stuff that is not normal! Aptera is different. Thanks Slick! Your the social media influencer, sooner Sarah Hardwick will offer you a job!

I found the speculation and observations about Steve’s & Chris’s compensation over-the-top and distasteful. Their combination of vision, energy, openness and talent is invaluable and irreplaceable.

Because "smart money" is doing such a good job 🤣 please.

One thought I have about Chris's and Steve's salaries. I'm guessing if they paid themselves any less, they'd have a hard time attracting investors. Real companies have succession plans. They need to make Aptera attractive to new CEOs.

WSJ just happens to pick on smaller cars and homes--the two things that will most reduce fossil fuel usage. Their Ed Board will never hurt fossil.

You missed the absolute worst thing Boxabl leaders did which was sell shares amidst a share offering. That was despicable. We would all like to believe Chris and Steve will do their best to take care of the crowdfunders, but it only takes once questionable decision to undo all the goodwill. Credit to them that they have been at this for years and seem to have been managing their finances, stretching their investments, and making progress (albeit slower than anticipated) without any significant questionable activity along the way. It will be very important to see how the US Capital terms play out as they go for private money. In one fell swoop, they could wipe us out with advantageous terms to make the dream come alive. I sincerely hope Steve and Chris have taken advantage of the crowdfunding to leverage a good deal for the crowdfunders. Otherwise, this will be a case study for dumb money suckers with crowdfunding rather than a success story.

The roadster wasn't supposed to come out in 2022, it was called the Roadster 2020 back in 2017, they quite literally called it that.

The article is actually clickbait.

Microsoft: "If you don't like how we sell our OS, then make your own." *makes Linux* "No, not like that!" Wall Street: If you don't like how we run investing, then make your own. *makes Wall Street Bets* "No, not like that!" Venture Capitalists: "If you don't like start-up culture then start your own" *starts equity crowdfunding* "No, not like that!"

I do not agree with the overall premise of this WSJ article regarding Aptera. There are legitimate facts about Aptera but the conclusions from these facts are not accurate or fair. We already know it’s a high risk just like any investment. Aptera has been very transparent with all their information as compared to any company that I have seen or invested in.

I wonder if many Capital Global employees read Wallstreet Journal? It's this simple: No confirmation of miles/kWh, kWh/day, price, cooling, etc. Then comes schedule failures.

I would change the question to: if Aptera does well, will the crowdfunding crowd share fairly in the winnings?

Like you said, startup investments are ALWAYS risky. If you cannot afford to burn the money you are investing in a startup, you shouldn't be investing. Aptera does not appear to be wasting the money that has been invested so far. Delays are part of startups. Whether or not Aptera has enough money to make it past another delay is difficult to say at this point but we will know by October if they don't have the money to keep the lights on. Whether it is crowdfunding or investments via US Capital Global, confidence or perception that Aptera is going to succeed is critical. While I know this sounds presumptuous but if Chris and Steve would defer half or more of their income from Aptera until production vehicles start shipping, that would be a big sign that they are personally putting their money on the line. At this point, perception is extremely important. Each of them likely have other companies where income is coming in. $200K/year in San Diego really is not much money at all. $200K in Van Wert, OH would be considered a very good income.

Smart Money folk are just full of themselves. I know, I have an MBA from University of Chicago! I am supposed to be one of them. The cleverest of them all, Warren Buffett, told everyone that much. He said you are better off investing in the S&P 500 than in a managed fund because the stock pickers for those funds have zero smart. I invested about $3,000 in Aptera because I love their idea. For the same reason I invested in Everydae (big fail), and Rizome and StorEn. I call it my 'play money'. Just like Steve said, I am lucky that if I loose all this money, there will still be bread on the table.

I think a lot of investors are former collegiate solar car team members who remember how these things cost like 10 mil and took 4+ years to make one. I think a lot of us know that it sucks to make a solar car, and that's why we invest. It might not work out, the two other solar car companies are already bankrupt, but isn't that going to be a great experience for those engineers lucky enough to work on this? And if they pull it off isn't it going to be sick as hell.

Nice review of two companies using Crowdfunding. Boxable definitely has signs if a money siphon, whereas Aptera is not, based on founder salaries & bonuses. Surely the SEC could reduce scams by imposing limits of CEO compensation. Average living expenses, exclusion of bonuses, or at least production based milestone bonuses (like Tesla) could go a long way to prevent ripoffs. The fact this does not exist means the SEC doesn’t really care.

Hey Slick, those two guys in Carlsbad are just a couple of uppity Californian west coasters out to make a big show and fleece the entire world. The Wall Street Journal is completely disinterested, of course, they can see things we can't, like Big Oil. I only wish I had more money to invest in Aptera.

Another way to tremendously increase credibility: Offer each reservation owner a sales invoice contract of price and performance with a late delivery discount penalty. I bet Aptera won't do it!

RU-vid investor consultant Kevin Paffrath really laid into them over a whole litney of problems with Boxable.

Id like to see them release a pre production version for test purposes do you know how micj a chrysler turbine var would go for today? And a tucker?

Warranted or not, this article is definitely going to make Aptera's road to production much, much more difficult!

Aptera's pay is good. The CEOs need 100% of their focus to be on the company. If they got paid any less living where they are they would have to worry about other things and less than 100% focus would be on the company.

I found a very early video of Steve Fambro saying he got obsessed with the design ( this is way way back pre X-prize days ( 2006?)....that is something very typical of scientists, obsession can be a positive thing and often is what is needed to get results in the long term. Especially in science/technology. There is a down side too, if your going down a path that is not going to be successful you have to, at some stage, pull the plug. If your obsessed its almost impossible to pull the plug. I have nothing but admiration for what they have achieved so far, I really hope they have success in getting the vehicle into production. There are a few issues: 1.honesty in interviews........100% honesty is required not avoiding questions 2. tricky issue: at what point should they give up is success is not going to happen? Since there have been production dates being given going back 16 years or so, which have never materialised , is there a point at which they should say "we tried hard but its just not going to happen". This is the dilemma. Is it a rabbit hole ( money pit) with no end?

The WSJ did a hit piece and I consider this to be lazy journalism. They could have made this a compare & contrast article - presented just like you did, summing up the article with the likelihood of any startup actually succeeding.

$3.7 mil still left on the offering with 10 days left. Between this, self-directed IRA & crypto options, if they spent half as much time working on the product as they do whoring the concept, maybe we could finally see what this thing can do. One thing through all of this is that you really want a fully fleshed-out quality product coming to you @ delivery. There is so, so much work to be done. I hope, in the coming months, the updates show an unprecedented focus on all of the parts coming in, the PI’s reviewed in detail, the tests underway and calibrations, the results, the independent feedback, all of it. Definitive needs to replace vague. Fingers crossed! It’s going to come down to, after all of this and what’s to come, “Is the product worth owning?”. Assuming $40K, IF performance, tuning, and build quality can match a Tesla, or Can-AM, it’s unique enough where they just might make it. If they put the manufacturing effort behind the self-promotion, as they have been doing, it will stay an also-ran. Interesting as hell.

For Aptera, most invested in the idea of an efficient designed vehicle. Most chipped in whatever change was lying around in the drawers. AND YES...we all want Aptera. We know we will pay actual window price for the vehicle when it comes out. For Boxabl, it was more of a social support idea that drover the investment. 50k home on a 30k small plot, would work all day any US geography in creating more homeowners and reduce poverty driven by rental businesses. AND most important address homelessness too.

Impatient people get a platform and make assumptions. That's all I get out of the article. Considering bias, who's paying for this article, who is trying to benefit from Aptera's disinterest? It seems like a company or industry that stands to lose invented this piece.

(fwiw, we're still hoping both Aptera and Boxabl successfully deliver products that we want; and can afford. If we also manage to get a return on our investment -- that would be wonderful... personally, I look forward to walking out of my boxabl, getting into my aptera, and with the sun's assistance, driving to the market to invest my earnings into another great product idea, or some fantastic coffee. Here's to -- that -- "someday".)

crowdfunding isn't the same as investing.

😊

I think the article is miss leading, like the corporate world doesn’t want Aptera to succeed when all started ups are a risk and they nothing about the auto industry

Read it. Shame that the journalist can't see the huge value of crowd funding. Before CF the only way to launch a complicated product was by trying to convince a big bank to give you a couple of hundred thousand. Want to borrow a couple of million to launch a slightly more complex product? Forget it.

I have nothing invested in Aptera beyond a $100 reservation, so my opinion is worth even less, but here it is anyway. The company seems as reputable as an EV startup promising a very exotic vehicle with bleeding-edge technology can be, but I have questions. After raising $120M from crowd funding, why does Aptera need to raise the last $65M to produce the vehicle from venture capitalists through a capital management firm? How do the terms offered to venture capitalists differ from the terms accepted by investors in the Accelerator program? Is $65M really enough? How much has U.S. Capital raised thus far? How much of the capital raised does U.S. Capital keep? Why hasn't some Saudi prince or another big investor provided the production capital yet? That seemed to be the goal before Aptera announced the services of U.S. Capital. Frankly, I won't believe that Aptera will deliver vehicles until I see early recipients review their vehicles on RU-vid, preferably on this channel.

It becomes a matter of trust. Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro are far from perfect but they are much better than Musk, IMHO

It is mine😂

Guilty by association

the sub headline is already misleading. its not social media and mentions, but the car itself. its aerodynamics and capabilities. the journal tries to not give helpful information.

The state of California is also deceived. They offered Aptera a huge grant without doing due diligence? C'mon, @WSJ, you could do better.