Aptera names solar cell supplier as it begins panel production for solar EVs that ‘never need to charge’
Solar EV startup Aptera Motors has just announced another major milestone in bringing its long-promised flagship model into production. Solar cell production is now underway with the help of Maxeon Solar Technologies – the newly announced cell supplier to Aptera as part of a “cross-company collaboration.”
Since initially unveiling its flagship solar EV donning the company name, Aptera has been endlessly working to deliver it to its customers. We know this because the startup has been quite transparent in its progress, gracing its growing number of reservation holders and fans alike with video updates at least once a month.
As its second go around as an SEV startup, Aptera has been doing things differently this time, naming a number of suppliers to help contribute to the components of its solar EVs while assembling them itself at its new 130,000 square-foot facility in Carlsbad, California.
As the Aptera SEV moves through gamma phase before entering a production-intent delta phase later this year, the startup has locked in one the most, if not the most important supply in its rolodex – solar cells. With Maxeon now onboard, the two companies have already begun producing solar panels.
Aptera finds solar cell savior in industry expert Maxeon
The solar EV startup announced its latest supply partner in a press release today alongside another video update explaining how its unique cell technology works and how its production process will continue.
Aptera describes this new agreement as a “cross-company collaboration” in which Maxeon will supply its highly-efficient Gen 3 solar cells to Aptera, whose solar engineers will integrate into the ultra-lightweight, two-axis (curved) solar panel technology it has already developed in house in Vista, California. Maxeon’s chief revenue officer and interim-CEO Mark Babcock spoke to Aptera’s selection as its new cell supplier:
We’re pleased to have been selected by Aptera to bring this next phase of solar innovation to market. At Maxeon, we provide the highest quality and most efficient solar technology, and Aptera’s mission to pioneer solar mobility is the natural progression of this innovation. The vehicle will feature the same extraordinary cells as those found in our high-efficiency solar panels powering homes and businesses – a true testament to our innovation as a solar leader.
With over 35 years of experience in its field, Maxeon Solar Technologies has the know-how to deliver the advanced solar cell technology vital for Aptera’s solar EV to gather its promised distance of 40 miles per day from the sun alone. Maxeon’s resume includes access to over 1,000 patents and over 3.5 billion solar cells in use today.
Production of the Aptera SEV is expected to ramp up in the first half of 2023. Several different versions of the Aptera are currently available to reserve for only $100 down. However, if you use this link, you can secure an Aptera of your own for only $70.
Check out Aptera’s latest video update below, which shares new details of its solar production:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.
Paris’ bike-share system, Vélib has long been considered one of the shining success stories of urban micromobility. With a massive fleet of over 20,000 pedal and electric-assist bicycles around Paris, the service has helped millions of residents and tourists get around the City of Light without needing a car or scooter. But lately, a growing problem is threatening to knock the wheels off this urban mobility marvel: theft and joyriding.
According to city officials and the service operator, more than 600 Vélib bikes are now going missing every single week. That’s over 30 bikes a day simply vanishing from the system – some stolen outright, others taken on “joy rides” and never returned.
“At the moment we’re missing 3,000 bikes,” explained Sylvain Raifaud, head of the Agemob company that currently operates the Velib system. That’s nearly 15% of over 20,000 Vélib bikes across Paris.
The sticky-fingered culprits aren’t necessarily professional thieves or organized crime rings. Instead, they’re often regular users who treat the shared bikes like disposable toys.
The city estimates that many people have figured out how to pry the bikes out of the system’s parking docks, unlocking one for a casual cruise and then ditching it somewhere far from a docking station.
Once pried free, the bikes are technically usable for the next 24 hours until their automatic locking feature kicks in. At that point, the bikes are often simply abandoned. Some end up in alleyways. Others get tossed in rivers. A few just disappear completely.
And since the bikes are intended to be parked at their many docking stations around the city, they don’t have GPS chips, further complicating recovery of “liberated” bikes.
The issue started small but has grown into more than an inconvenience – it’s beginning to undermine the entire purpose of the service. With bikes going missing at such a high rate, many Vélib docking stations are left empty, especially during rush hours.
Riders looking for a quick commute or a convenient hop across town are increasingly finding themselves without available bikes, or having to walk long distances to find a functioning one.
That kind of unreliability chips away at user confidence and threatens to drive potential riders back into cars, cabs, or other less sustainable forms of transport at a time when Paris has already made great strides to dramatically reduce car usage in the city.
The losses are financially painful, too. Replacing stolen or vandalized bikes isn’t cheap, and the resources spent on tracking down missing equipment or reinforcing anti-theft measures are stretching thin. Vélib has faced theft and vandalism issues before, especially during its early years, but this latest surge has officials sounding the alarm with renewed urgency.
Officials acknowledge that there’s no easy fix. Paris, like many cities with bike-share systems, walks a fine line between accessibility and accountability. Part of what makes Vélib so successful is its ease of use and widespread availability. But those same features make it vulnerable to misuse – especially when enforcement is limited and the consequences for abuse are minimal.
The timing of the problem is especially unfortunate. In recent years, Paris has seen impressive results in reducing car traffic, expanding bike lanes, and promoting cycling as a key part of its sustainable transport strategy. Vélib is a cornerstone of that plan. But if the system becomes too unreliable, it risks losing the very people it was designed to serve.
Meanwhile, as Parisians increasingly find themselves staring at empty docks, the challenge for the city and Vélib will be to restore confidence in the system without making it harder to use. That means striking the right balance between freedom and responsibility, between open access and protection against abuse.
In a city where cycling is supposed to be the future of mobility, losing thousands of bikes to joyriders and sticky fingers isn’t just frustrating; it’s unsustainable.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike