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Aptera Motors to integrate openpilot driver assistance system into its solar EVs [Video]
Aptera Motors is back with its second exciting news update this week, announcing it has selected an open-source driver assistance system called “openpilot” as its official system that will be integrated into its production model solar EVs.
Aptera Motors continues to take large strides in 2023 on its journey to reaching the holy grail of scaled EV production, hopefully sometime next year. The startup’s recently-extended Accelerator program should help it garner some big funding to purchase the necessary equipment for SEV production, which will be reimbursed by a recently-awarded grant in California for $21 million.
We got our first glimpse of Aptera’s Launch Edition this past January, and the hype train for the first commercialized solar EV keeps chugging along. If and when those Launch Editions roll off Aptera’s assembly line, we now know drivers will be able to utilize functions like adaptive cruise control and lane centering thanks to the openpilot driver assistance system.
Aptera selects top-ranked driver assistance system
According to the news from Aptera Motors today, its engineers will create and maintain the necessary code specific to its solar EV that can interface with the open-source driver assistance system openpilot, originally developed by comma.ai, though the companies currently have zero affiliation.
Previously voted the number one driver assistance system by Consumer Reports, openpilot is the only consumer system available (aside from Tesla) that can halt at stop signs and red lights, while only using 1/10th the power. As a result, Aptera states future owners should see virtually-zero efficiency loss while using the driver assistance system. Veteran openpilot community member Chris McCammon is spearheading the Aptera integration and shared his thoughts on how the open-source system has evolved since 2017:
Since then, the software has matured immensely and now supports over 200 vehicle models with an easy-to-install kit. Even though openpilot has vastly surpassed nearly all driver assistance systems on the market today, big auto players have not embraced it. They continue to throw hundreds of millions of dollars into developing their own inferior systems, while openpilot is open-source software that anyone can implement for free.
Free.
That’s another savvy business move by Aptera Motors as it looks to minimize expenses in finally… hopefully, bringing its long-promised SEVs to the masses. Aptera cofounder and co-CEO Steve Fambro is already a fan:
I’ve been using openpilot in my existing vehicle for over 6 months and have been blown away. It has completely changed how I drive, and I can’t picture a more efficient way for Aptera drivers to be a part of the autonomous future.
Aptera says that it is currently deciphering exactly how openpilot driver assistance can best be integrated into its vehicles and that several validation steps will be required leading up to the solar EV’s start of production. Right now, the plan is to deliver openpilot-capable SEVs to customers, who will then receive a shipment of the compatible hardware that can be installed thereafter in under 30 minutes.
You can learn more about openpilot and its integration into future Aptera vehicles from McCammon in the video posted by the startup this afternoon.
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The US solar industry just delivered another huge quarter, installing 11.7 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity in Q3 2025. That makes it the third-largest quarter on record and pushes total solar additions this year past 30 GW – despite the Trump administration’s efforts to kneecap clean energy.
According to the new “US Solar Market Insight Q4 2025” report from Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, 85% of all new power added to the grid during the first nine months of the Trump administration came from solar and storage. And here’s the twist: Most of that growth – 73% – happened in red states.
Eight of the top 10 states for new installations fall into that category, including Texas, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Utah, Kentucky, and Arkansas. Utah jumped into the top 10 this quarter thanks to two big utility-scale projects totaling more than 1 GW.
But the report also flags major uncertainty ahead. Federal actions, including a July memo from the Department of the Interior (DOI), have slowed or stalled the approvals pipeline for utility-scale solar and storage. Without clarity on permitting timelines, Wood Mackenzie’s long-term utility-scale forecast through 2030 remains basically unchanged from last quarter.
“This record-setting quarter for solar deployment shows that the market is continuing to turn to solar to meet rising demand,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO. She added that strong growth in red states underscores how decisively the market is shifting toward clean energy. “But unless this administration reverses course, the future of clean, affordable, and reliable solar and storage will be frozen by uncertainty, and Americans will continue to see their energy bills go up.”
Two new solar module factories opened this year in Louisiana and South Carolina, adding a combined 4.7 GW of capacity. That brings the total new US module manufacturing capacity added in 2025 to 17.7 GW. With a new wafer facility coming online in Michigan in Q3, the US can now produce every major component of the solar module supply chain.
“We expect 250 GW of solar to be installed from 2025 to 2030,” said Michelle Davis, head of solar research at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report. “But the US solar industry has more potential. With rising power demand across the country, solar could do even more if current constraints were eased.”
SEIA also noted that, following an analysis of EIA data, it found that more than 73 GW of solar projects across the US are stuck in permitting limbo and at risk of politically motivated delays or cancellations.
Read more: EIA: Solar + storage soar as fossil fuels stall through September 2025
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The spiritual successor to the beloved Chevy Geo Tracker, production of the new-for-2026 electric Spark EUV has officially begun in Brazil with more than 200 miles of range.
That’s right, kids. To know the Chevy Tracker is to love the Chevy Tracker. The tiny, top-heavy Suzuki-based SUV combined bold colors, fun styling, (relatively) good fuel economy, and real off-road chops (especially in ZR2 trim) with an affordable price tag to make the Tracker an early favorite among the serious rock-crawling crowds.
Like, really
While it’s still too early to tell whether or not the all-new Chevy Spark EUV will come even close to that little proto-SUV, it seems we won’t have to wait much longer to find out – GM Authority reports that production of the 2026 Chevy Spark EUV has officially begun at Comexport’s Planta Automotiva do Ceará (PACE) plant, in the state of Ceará, Brazil.
GM Brazil invested the equivalent of $73 million to get the PACE factory ready to assemble GM’s modern, zero-emissions Chevy crossover for the South American and Middle Eastern markets – an investment big enough to earn a visit from Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was on-hand for the December 3rd kickoff event.
“It’s not a car factory,” said Comexport Vice President and PACE shareholder, Rodrigo Teixeir. “(The) goal is to develop technology there, not simply assemble a vehicle.”
Production of the new Spark EUV began last week, with production of the equally new Chevy Captiva EV set to begin as early as Q1 of 2026.
2026 Chevy Spark EUV
The Made in Brazil Chevrolet Spark EUV is heavily based on the Chinese Baojun, and is powered by that vehicle’s single 75 kW (101 hp), 180 Nm (130 lb-ft) motor driving the front wheels. Power comes from the Baojun’s 42 kWh LFP battery that, with regenerative braking, is good for up to 360 km (220 miles) on the NEDC driving cycle.
Weirdly, the new Spark is also equipped with a 10.1″ infotainment screen and 8.8″ digital instrument cluster (above) that supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard – technology that GM claims lead to “unsafe” driver behaviors in North America.
Let us know what you think of the little electric SUV, and whether or not you think it would be a hit in the US (it would) in the comments.
SOURCE: GM Authority; images by GM, Harry Situations.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you 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. It has 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.
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