Aptera co-CEO hints at a return to crowdfunding as $60M raise with US Capital Global falters
Aptera Motors is currently doing fine testing its first production-intent solar electric vehicles but has been very candid about its need for more funding to reach bonafide production. Its most recent SEC filing details slower-than-expected investments from convertible notes, and the startup’s co-CEO recently hinted that Aptera might revisit crowdfunding, seeking help from the loyal following that has helped it this far.
Aptera Motors is the solar-electric “engine” that could (and still could). We’ve kept close tabs on the startup over the years and have made a conscious effort to keep you readers informed on its progress, much of which has been promising. Especially over the past 18 months or so.
We consistently applaud Aptera Motors for its transparency and monthly updates, often led by co-CEOs Steve Frambro and Chris Anthony, who continue to fight onward in bringing the second iteration of Aptera to its fullest potential and reach what has now become the holy grail of solar EV development – full-scale production.
Last month, Aptera delivered a significant milestone to the public, showcasing its first-ever production-intent build, complete with genuine components we could one day see in a flagship solar EV on the road. Until this point, crowdfunding led by a loyal fanbase of reservation holders and believers in sustainable technology has gotten Aptera this far.
Last we heard, Aptera had raised over $135 million from over 17,000 investors, which the startup touted as the most successful crowdfunding raise in history. However, the company shared that it would need another $60 million in additional funding to begin low-volume SEV production, now slotted for late 2025.
To achieve this, Aptera shuttered its crowdfunding campaigns and turned to financial group US Capital Global, which has been leading the $60 million sale of convertible notes since July. Based on SEC filings, more prominent investors appear weary of investing in the solar EV startup. Still, Aptera’s co-CEOs continue to push forward regardless but have hinted at other levers to gain cashflow, including a fresh crowdfunding campaign.
Could Aptera revisit crowdfunding to reach production?
So far, Aptera’s $60 million funding raise has not gone as quickly as planned. When the startup originally announced the partnership with US Capital Global over the summer, executives from the financial group anticipated the raise would take 60 to 90 days.
We are now in November, beyond the 90-day timeline, and per Aptera’s October 21, 2024, filing with the SEC, it had only sold $400,000 of the $60 million in convertible notes. The co-CEOs shared that the minimum investment price through US Capital was $50,000. That is far too much green for the average Aptera crowdfunding participant but not an obscene amount for larger investment firms.
Based on those October figures, financial groups appear hesitant to invest in the startup despite its progress and the potential of its solar EV technology. Whether its on Reddit, Discord, or the Electrek comment section, the Aptera community is still very high on the startup and believes it can succeed and stay on track for mass production in 2026.
Munro and Associates, led by Sandy Munro, signed on as a partner to Aptera Motors in 2020, and the famed automotive enthusiast has made several appearances alongside the startup’s co-founders in addition to routine visits to its headquarters in Carlsbad, California.
Last month, Munro Live shot a video at Aptera HQ where co-founders Steve Fambro and Chris Anthony walked Sandy around the shop and inside and out of the PI-2 Solar EV. From the driver’s seat, Munro peppered Fambro and Anthony with questions about their required funding.
Most of the answers were routine and stuff we’d already heard before, but there was one little juicy tidbit Chris Anthony said that’s noteworthy. We highly recommend watching the full 40-minute video, which we’ve embedded below, but the stuff we’re talking about today starts at around 37 minutes.
Munro asked about funding, and Anthony explained the $60 million raise via convertible notes with US Capital. Per Anthony, that funding would help Aptera get all the necessary production equipment and tooling to begin building initial customer vehicles. Anthony also shared that money would help get Aptera to a run rate of 6,000 solar EVs per year, which are cashflow neutral. Here’s where it gets good. Anthony elaborates:
We think along the way, we may open the crowdfunding again because right now, the minimum investment for the convertible note is $50,000. So, a lot of people have been waiting to invest in Aptera, but they can’t because the minimum is so high.
So Aptera is considering a return to crowdfunding to gain additional funding, but perhaps somewhere down the road. The immediate focus remains on the convertible note with US Capital Global. Anthony went on:
But it’s going well, we’ve made lots of great connections over the last two months and hopefully we’ll continue the raise and be able to start buying some of this bigger equipment like the castings for the rear and stuff like that soon.
If there wasn’t enough riding on the $60 million convertible note with US Capital, it is the best current option to get Aptera the equipment it needs to begin genuine SEV production. However, crowdfunding has already proven quite fruitful for Aptera in the past, and its founders have not lost sight of that option.
As always, we will keep you in the loop on Aptera news as it progresses with more production-intent builds, including a PI-2 with solar panels ahead of more testing. You can reserve an Aptera for $30 off the $100 reservation by clicking here.
As promised, here’s the full video from Munro Live that offers a fantastic look at the PI-2 build so far:
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Tesla appears to be doubling down on its new “Oasis” Supercharger station concept, which consists of larger stations powered by solar and a microgrid battery system.
Although, this new one is a bit less ambitious.
Last month, Tesla announced its “project Oasis” (pictured above), which should become one of Tesla’s largest Supercharger stations with several pull-through stalls for trucks and trailers, but the real differentiating factor is a large solar array and battery system that enables the charging station to operate off-grid mostly.
CEO Elon Musk has been saying that the goal of the Supercharger network is to be powered by solar and batteries and mostly off-grid since 2016, but Tesla has yet to make this common.
The announcement of the Project Oasis gave us some hope that it might finally happen, and now it looks like Tesla is planning a mini Oasis.
Marco RP, who tracks Supercharger projects, reported on the new construction plans submitted for the Coalinga, California station:
https://twitter.com/MarcoRPi1/status/1852794833154535719
The project is about 50 miles north of Project Oasis – also on Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
We call it a “mini Oasis” not because it has fewer charging stations than Oasis; it actually has the same number of planned stalls, 168 stalls, but because it doesn’t have as much solar and batteries to enable off-grid use.
Oasis has 11 MW of planned solar power and 39 MWh of energy storage.
This new project in Coalinga has less than 1 MW of solar and 15.5 MWh of energy storage. In the case of Oasis, the grid complements Tesla’s microgrid, and in this new project, it’s Tesla’s microgrid that complements the grid connection.
But Tesla could eventually expand its solar array and battery storage system at the new station.
This new station also includes restrooms, which Tesla has sometimes deployed at bigger stations.
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Home to luxury automakers like Porsche and BWM, Lucid Motors (LCID) is making a name for itself in Germany. Lucid just had its second consecutive month of record EV registrations in Europe’s largest auto market.
Lucid is taking on Europe with its luxury EVs
According to new data released Tuesday from Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), Lucid had 129 new registrations in October.
Although it may not seem like much, it’s a considerable jump from the 41 registrations Lucid had in September. Lucid sold more cars in Germany last month than it did in the entire third quarter. The luxury EV maker has 256 registrations in Germany through the first ten months.
Lucid’s growth comes despite overall EV registrations in Germany slipping nearly 5% YOY to 35,491 units in October.
After opening its newest studio in Hamburg last month, Lucid declared its “expansion in Europe continues.” The new studio comes just a month after opening one in Frankfurt.
Lucid now has four showrooms in Germany and eight in Europe as it expands overseas. Last month, the EV maker also signed a deal with SIXT to add its luxury Air sedan to its fleet in Germany.
Following the deal, former CEO Peter Rawlinson said more customers will be able to “experience the only EV in the world which is equally at home on the Autobahn as on city streets.”
Lucid’s mobile service network covers 15 European markets, including Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
The Lucid Air Pure starts at about $93,000 (€85,000) in Germany and has up to 464 miles (747 km) of WLTP range. Lucid’s Air Touring and Air Grand Touring models start at $108,200 (€99,000) and $141,000 (€129,000), respectively.
| Starting Price | WLTP Range | |
| Lucid Air Pure | $93,000 (€85,000) | 464 miles (747 km) |
| Lucid Air Touring | $108,200 (€99,000) | 451 miles (725 km) |
| Lucid Air Grand Touring | $141,000 (€129,000) | 521 miles (839 km) |
Lucid said it plans to continue expanding in Europe with its newly opened service and delivery centers in Munich and Zurich.
In the US, the company is gearing up to launch its first electric SUV, the Gravity. Lucid will begin taking Gravity SUV orders for US buyers on November 7, 2024.
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Renewables developer Exus Renewables North America is giving a $200 million upgrade to Somerset County, Pennsylvania’s 139 megawatt (MW) Twin Ridges Wind Farm – here’s why repowering projects like this are the future of the wind industry.
Wind energy repowering is all about breathing new life into older turbines or entire wind farms. By swapping out aging parts like turbines, blades, and nacelles for the latest tech, wind farms can see significant boosts in efficiency, power capacity, and overall lifespan. Other infrastructure and control systems can also get a second life, too.
Adding new components to existing infrastructure and grid connections mean it’s less expensive to extend the life of the wind farm with fewer resources. New components make the turbines less prone to breakdowns which means less maintenance, so there are fewer operational costs. Plus, a wind farm’s debt is usually paid off at around 10 years, and it qualifies for new tax credits and new financing at around that time. Existing wind farms often have power purchase agreements in place, and data companies are increasingly chasing power sources as demand grows.
Repowering Twin Ridges meant keeping all 68 towers and foundations while swapping out the nacelles and blades. Vestas, which has identified the repower market as a huge opportunity and engineered a solution that’s compatible with most turbines, supplied US-made nacelles, hubs, blades, and tower adaptors for the project. (Twin Ridges’ original supplier, RES, is no longer in business.)
Jim Spencer, CEO of Exus Renewables North America, said of Twin Ridges, “This upgrade will increase the power generation by 30%, which is a lot more power going into the grid. Repowering will allow it to use more of its allotted grid capacity since wind farms don’t operate at maximum capacity 100% of the time.”
Unlike a new wind farm, which comes online all at once, a repowered wind farm sees refurbished turbines turned on one at a time since the infrastructure is already in place. Out of its 68 upgraded turbines, Twin Ridges has brought 40 repowered turbines online, and a 41st turbine will soon follow.
Industry estimates suggest that up to 50 GW of US onshore wind capacity will be assessed for repowering in the next few years.
Read more: Renewables now make up 30% of US utility-scale generating capacity
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