![Aptera shares a juicy progress update toward reaching scaled solar EV production [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/Aptera-EV-production-progress.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Aptera shares a juicy progress update toward reaching scaled solar EV production [Video]
Resilient startup Aptera is back with a robust progress update after a busy summer promoting its upcoming solar EV by the same name, ahead of planned production next year. The company has posted not one, but two videos updating its fanbase about its progress, which appears to be coming along quite nicely. Could it be the first to successfully reach scaled solar EV production?
If you follow Electrek, you’re likely no stranger to Aptera Motors. As an early EV startup, Aptera was on our radar a decade ago. Now in its second iteration, the SoCal automaker has returned and inched closer than ever to reaching the holy grail in its nascent yet unproven segment.
We’ve shared its progress nearly every step of the way – from beta models through gamma, garnering state grants along the way. With the debut of its Launch Edition solar EV, Aptera began an accelerator program that prioritizes deliveries to customers committing to an order, in exchange for crowdfunding to obtain the necessary equipment to get production going.
With just over 500 of the 2,000 production slots still available, Aptera continues to bring in the capital it needs to support its Body in Carbon (BinC) assembly process through its current validation phase and beyond. We have grown accustomed monthly updates, many times featuring cofounder and Co-CEO Chris Anthony, but the summer was relatively quiet from the busy startup.
Recently, Aptera has reemerged in the public eye on its preferred medium of YouTube, posting some exciting new updates. Here’s the latest.
Aptera gathers essential equipment for solar EV production
According to Aptera’s latest progress update, it has obtained over 60% of the essential equipment and tools required to manufacture its BinC. This includes stamping dies and post-processing tools (seen above) – some of the most expensive elements of the production process that require the longest lead times to be commissioned and delivered.
With stamping dies in place, Aptera is now continuing solar EV validation by assembling production-intent builds. Over the coming months, the startup will test these vehicles, which will look and perform like the solar EVs that hopefully make their way to customers someday.
The next step will be to complete and validate all six body components into a complete BinC, linking front and rear subframes to the EV’s structural battery pack before entering the vehicle assembly process at Aptera’s new facility near San Diego, California. In addition to the progress update you can view below, Aptera also shared the following video featuring renderings of those assembly lines.
Production intent testing and validation will be followed by rigorous safety and crash testing, following by fine-tuning and optimization to ensure passenger safety going forward. From there, Aptera plans to validate is solar EV manufacturing procedures to streamline the entire process.
No specific update on when production will finally begin, but Aptera appears closer than ever, with plenty of credit to its community of customers/investors that believe in its potential. As previously mentioned, Aptera still has about 540 production slots available for the Launch Edition solar EVs for $10,000 down.
Those who would rather wait for the later models can still reserve an Aptera of their own for only $100 down, $70 if you use the following link. Here’s the full update from Aptera’s chief marketing officer, Sarah Hardwick:
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Tesla has launched a limited version of its Full Self-Driving features in China to mixed reviews as it’s still far from what was promised.
After many delays, Tesla has now pushed an update that brings some of the advanced driver-assist features sold under its Full Self-Driving package in North America to the Chinese market.
The features are being pushed through the ‘2024.45.32.12’ update, and Tesla wrote in the release notes (translated from Chinese):
- Autopilot automatic assisted driving on urban roads (optimizing the existing NOA automatic assisted navigation driving function): Using Autopilot automatic assisted driving on controlled roads (main roads where road users enter and exit through ramp entrances and ramp exits) and urban roads will guide the vehicle to exit ramps and intersections according to the navigation route, and identify traffic lights at intersections to go straight, turn left, turn right, turn around, etc. It will also automatically change lanes according to speed and route. When the navigation route is not set, the optimal road will be selected according to the actual road conditions.
- Cabin Camera: The cockpit camera above your rearview mirror can now determine whether the driver is paying attention and remind you to focus on the road through an alarm when the intelligent assisted driving system is activated. The cabin camera video is processed inside the vehicle. No one (including Tesla) has access to it.
- Map package version updated: CN-2025.8-15218.
*The implementation time and effects of some functions may vary depending on the vehicle model and configuration.
The update has received mixed reviews from Tesla owners in China. Some of them are happy with the progress, while others are disappointed that it falls short of the self-driving capabilities Tesla promised and of the capabilities of the competition, which offers more advanced driver-assist systems for less.
Lu Panpan, a Tesla owner in China’s eastern Zhejiang province who bought a Model 3 in 2019, told Reuters:
“We can tell Tesla has no choice but to deliver a knowingly restricted system. It is hard for Tesla to catch up with the smart-driving capabilities in Chinese cars, which even makes less sense given its high pricing.”
Lu paid 56,000 yuan ($7,720) for Tesla’s FSD package. Tesla promised to deliver self-driving capability that would enable to turn your car into a robotaxi.
Instead, 6 years later, owners are getting the capability that other Chinese automakers offer in their vehicles for a fraction of the cost.
A recent report from Bloomberg claimed that Tesla plans to release another update later this year in China with better capacity, and CEO Elon Musk has claimed that he believes Tesla will release full self-driving capability in most markets within the next year – though he has been staying that every year for the last 6 years.
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At PayPal‘s first investor day in four years, CEO Alex Chriss will deliver a clear message to shareholders: Venmo isn’t just an easy way to split the dinner tab.
Chriss, who took the helm in September 2023, is trying to spur a turnaround at the payments company, and Venmo is a key part of his effort. The company told investors in New York on Tuesday that Venmo can top $2 billion in revenue by 2027. The last time PayPal provided an annual revenue figure for Venmo was 2021, when it was about $900 million.
For Chriss, Venmo expansion is all part of a broader push to restore consistent, profitable growth after years of turbulence that saw the company’s market cap dwindle by more than 80% from mid-2021 through late 2023.
With 90 million U.S. users, Venmo has been a cultural staple for years and has become a verb that’s synonymous with sending money to a friend or family member. But monetization has remained a challenge because those transactions generate little revenue.
Meanwhile, competitors like Block‘s Cash App, Zelle and Apple Pay have been gaining ground, offering simple bank integrations and an expanded range of financial services. On Tuesday, PayPal is outlining its strategy to deepen user engagement and position Venmo as the default app not just for peer-to-peer transactions, but for spending, saving and becoming what the company is calling the “go-to money movement app.”
That includes more focus on its debit card, encouraging in-store purchases, getting more merchants to use “Pay With Venmo” and rolling out features designed to keep funds within the app. Ultimately, greater business use means higher transaction volume and more profit. And for consumers, offering them increased value within the app raises the likelihood they’ll use Venmo to pay at checkout and to keep higher balances in their account.
The company has already been headed down that path. Monetized monthly active users increased 24% in 2024, and the company expects mid-single-digit annual growth in Venmo’s user base through 2027. Over that stretch, Venmo debit card total payment volume is projected to rise at a more than 20% compounded annual growth rate, while “Pay With Venmo” is expected to expand at double that rate.
Chriss has prioritized transaction margin dollars, reversing a decline that saw margins contract in 2022 and 2023 before rebounding in 2024. At investor day, he’s outlining long-term financial targets, including high single-digit growth in transaction margin dollars and per share earnings growth in the low teens by 2027.
To push Venmo beyond the consumer market and into the world of business transactions, PayPal has partnered with companies including DoorDash, Starbucks and Ticketmaster. In its fourth-quarter earnings report earlier this month, PayPal said the number of merchants using Pay with Venmo increased 50% from a year earlier.
The company said Instacart and MoonPay joined as partners in the latest quarter and that JetBlue became the first airline to allow use of Venmo for booking flights.
“While we are still early in monetizing Venmo, we have a proven playbook that is resonating with customers,” Chriss said on the earnings call. “This gives us confidence as we move to 2025 and beyond.”
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