Aptera secures first fleet order for 101 solar EVs with intentions for 100,000 more in the future
Solar electric vehicle start-up Aptera Motors has announced its first fleet order from SustainabilitySooner, Inc. The initial pre-order is for 101 of Aptera’s 400-mile range solar EVs and is expected to deliver millions in future revenue. However, what may be more exciting is the prospect of future fleet orders as SustainabilitySooner looks to eventually operate a fleet of over 100,000 SEVs.
As one of the few remaining solar EV start-ups left in the world and the closest to reaching scaled vehicle production, Aptera Motors has been pulling out all the stops in recent months to ensure it can deliver its potentially revolutionary technology to its loyal reservation holders.
While debuting its Launch Edition solar EV this past January, Aptera’s cofounders shared that the start-up still required tens of millions in additional funding to officially begin production. A week later, Aptera launched its Accelerator program to raise additional funds from reservation holders willing and able to invest at least $10,000 to secure their spot in the delivery line, prioritized by whoever donates the most.
Last week, we shared news that Aptera had nixed the late March expiry for the Accelerator program, extending it until all 2,000 of the first SEV build slots are spoken for. Aptera shared it intends to use those funds to make necessary production equipment purchases that will be reimbursed through a recently awarded grant from the California Energy Commission to the tune of $21 million.
Today, Aptera Motors is reporting it has the potential for millions in future revenue, thanks to a fleet pre-order from SustainabilitySooner, Inc.
Aptera secures first fleet order with hopes plenty will follow
Aptera Motors shared the details of its first-ever fleet order today, which entails a pre-order for 101 of the start-up’s 400-mile range solar EV. The reservation from SustainabilitySooner is valued at $3.35 million in future revenues and, according to Aptera, represents the first of many more partnerships with companies seeking a sustainable fleet solution.
Aptera may be off and running with a customer like SustainabilitySooner in its Rolodex, as it has already shared intentions to grow the initial fleet of 101 Apterae (learned a new word today) to over 101,000 solar EVs as it continues its expansion across the US. The start-up’s CEO, David Fuller, spoke to the pre-order with Aptera:
SustainabilitySooner.com placed Aptera’s first fleet order because Aptera is building the most climate positive vehicle on the planet. The next mobility revolution must be a climate positive revolution. Our missions fit together like they were made to. In our search for our Climate Positive Mobility Partner, it was easy, in fact effortless, to see Aptera and SustainabilitySooner.com could have a long, mutually productive, even symbiotic relationship.
SustainabilitySooner, Inc. is working to alleviate climate change using what it calls Climaculture – the science and practice of cultivating plants and organisms synchronously with land management to produce clean, sustainable air, water, and energy.
The company states its pre-ordered fleet of Aptera solar EVs will enable it to scout and locate raw land sites without pesky emissions, then will utilize “artificially intelligent robotic solutions” to map, plant, and study native plants and wildlife in those areas. Aptera cofounder and co-CEO Chris Anthony spoke to the start-up’s first fleet order as well:
We’re grateful to establish our very first fleet deal with SustainabilitySooner.com, a change-maker that embraces the solar mobility movement and empowers the community to make the world a better place. It’s great to see a forward-thinking company deploying this technology in such an innovative way.
SustainabilitySooner.com will continue to educate and promote sustainability to its subscribers while giving them the digital tools to track their own shrinking carbon footprints. If and when Aptera begins production of its solar EVs, they will certainly help the start-up on its journey toward curing the world’s climate in addition to providing sustainable, long-range mobility to other fleet operations.
Aptera’s SEVs are still available for pre-order, and hundreds of slots for the Launch Edition remain open. Furthermore, reservation holders can take advantage of a discounted membership to SustainabilitySooner.com with their reservation and can benefit from a 30% discount on their Aptera reservation fee.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, EnBW’s He Dreiht, just hit a big milestone: The first enormous turbine is now up in the North Sea.
He Dreiht – which means “it spins” in Low German – is using Vestas’s massive 15 megawatt (MW) turbines, the first project in the world to install them. Just one spin of one of the rotors can generate enough electricity to power four households for an entire day.
When it’s finished, He Dreiht will have 64 mega turbines cranking out 960 megawatts (MW) of clean power – enough to supply around 1.1 million homes. And it’s being built without any government subsidies.
EnBW, one of Germany’s major energy companies, has been working in offshore wind for more than 15 years, but He Dreiht is their biggest project yet. “It will play a key role in helping us to significantly grow our renewable energy output from 6.6 GW to over 10 GW by 2030,” said Michael Class, who heads up EnBW’s generation portfolio development.
The project is a win for Vestas, too. “With the installation of the first V236-15.0 MW, we have reached an important milestone for both the He Dreiht project and our offshore ramp-up, which helps Germany build a more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy system,” said Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.
He Dreiht is located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Helgoland. At peak times, more than 500 workers will be out at sea building the farm, using a fleet of more than 60 ships. EnBW’s offshore team in Hamburg is running the show.
The installation process is a major operation. The 64 foundations were already set in the seabed last year. Parts for the turbines are loaded onto the installation vessel Wind Orca in Esbjerg, Denmark, and shipped out in a 12-hour journey to the construction site. From there, the turbines are lifted into place. Meanwhile, crews are also working on internal wind farm cabling.
A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9% of the shares in He Dreiht.
Read more: Trump admin halts $5 billion NY offshore wind project mid-build
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla has released a quick update about its Tesla Semi factory in Nevada. It says that it is on track for volume production of the electric semi truck in 2026.
The Tesla Semi was first scheduled to go into production in 2019, but it has faced numerous delays.
Now, it appears that there is finally some momentum to bring it to volume production.
For the last two years, Tesla has been working to build a new factory next to Gigafactory Nevada, where it builds the battery packs and drive units for most of its electric vehicles built in North America.
Today, Tesla released a “progress update on the factory, confirming that it finished building and it’s now working on deploying the production lines:
Tesla had previously mentioned aiming for volume production by 2025, but it is now only talking about starting production toward the end of the year and ramping up next year.
The automaker reiterated its planned production capacity of 50,000 units.
We recently reported that an early Tesla Semi customer, Ryder, stated that the electric truck program is experiencing more delays and a price increase described as “dramatic.”
They now expect to take deliveries of their first trucks later in 2026 and said that the price has increased “dramatically,” leading them to scale back their pilot program from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks.
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2022. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Vietnamese solar panel maker Boviet Solar just opened the doors to its first US factory — a huge new PV module plant in Greenville, North Carolina.
The company dropped $294 million into the state-of-the-art facility, which will pump out Boviet’s Gamma Series monofacial and Vega Series bifacial solar panels. They’re using advanced PERC and N-Type solar cell tech, which basically means these panels are built to deliver higher efficiency and better performance across residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale projects.
The Greenville factory’s first phase is now online with an annual PV module output capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW). For Phase 2, which is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2026, Boviet will invest another $100 million to add 600,000 square feet and ramp up to another 2 GW. It will make high-efficiency solar cells.
Once both phases are complete, Boviet’s campus will cover more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and R&D space. It’s one of the biggest clean energy manufacturing projects North Carolina has ever seen.
The jobs impact is significant, too. The first phase will create 460 skilled local jobs. Phase 2 is expected to add another 908, bringing the total to over 1,300 direct jobs, plus nearly 2,000 more indirect jobs across the region. That’s good news for Pitt County’s economy, real estate market, and workforce training programs.
“This facility is not just creating jobs, but creating opportunity, innovation, and a stronger foundation for eastern North Carolina,” said Senator Kandie Smith. Governor Josh Stein added that Boviet Solar’s move shows how North Carolina is leading the way in clean energy growth.
Read more: Thomas Built Buses debuts its next-gen electric school bus
If you’re an electric vehicle owner, charge up your car at home with rooftop solar panels. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing on solar, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –ad*
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
-
Sports1 year 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
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway