![Aptera April update: 'Artemis' feature-complete pushes forward, first solar deliveries, and a new partnership [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/05/Aptera-update-SEV.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Aptera April update: ‘Artemis’ feature-complete pushes forward, first solar deliveries, and a new partnership [Video]
As anticipated, Aptera Motors has shared its monthly progress update for April, complete with new progress across its business strategy. In the video you can view below, Aptera’s co-founder Chris Anthony details the progress of two more production-intent solar EV builds, including codename “Artemis,” and discusses the startup’s latest investment opportunities to secure one of the first production builds.
Aptera continues to trek forward as the little motor that could in the lonely world of solar EV startups. At the end of each month, Aptera shares a progress update detailing its latest milestones. In recent months, we’ve seen the company perform real-world testing, which included the first road trip in one of its production-intent builds, which traveled over 300 miles.
This month, Aptera co-founder and co-CEO Chris Anthony shared progress updates on two more production-intent builds, including PI4, codenamed “Artemis.” Before we dig into that tech, we want to recap some financial news the company shared in mid-April.
As reported in December 2024, Aptera announced a return to a crowdfunding strategy after an unsuccessful attempt at an investment round selling convertible notes with the help of US Capital Global. At the time, Aptera shared that prospective investors could once again purchase shares in the startup priced at $14.80 each, requesting a minimum investment of $1,000.
Last month, Aptera sweetened the deal with a promotional update to its investment program, offering a price-match discount coupon valid toward purchasing a Launch Edition Aptera. For example, if you invest $1,000, you get $1k off your SEV purchase, a $5,000 investment equals a $5k coupon, and so on, up to $10,000.
Additionally, the first 1,000 investors who commit $5,000 or more will be added to a priority SEV delivery waitlist, but that’s after Aptera completes the initial 2,000 deliveries promised through its previous crowdfunding venture, the Accelerator Program.
Chris Anthony shared details of this latest investment opportunity and the progress of the rest of Aptera’s business in its April update.
April ended with several new Aptera updates
During Aptera’s April update video, Chris Anthony shared that over 400 SEV believers have already committed at least $5k to Aptera’s latest investment program, securing priority delivery status (if the startup makes it to that milestone).
While the company still has approximately 600 slots to fill, securing 40% of its desired investors in less than a month shows that there is still a loyal following of everyday consumers who believe in solar EV technology. Speaking of that, the April update also included a closer look at Aptera’s latest production intent model, PI4, or “Artemis.”
In the video below, two employees are working on PI4 behind Anthony, who explained that the company is working to install the complete thermal management system, which was designed entirely in-house, to manage heating and cooling across the solar EV’s components and cabin.
On the software side, Aptera’s team continues to progress in heating and cooling controls on the SEV’s thermal management system and the startup’s proprietary infotainment system, which will be displayed on a 12.8-inch screen from Tianma (seen above). Other features the software team has recently tackled include wiper control, window control, and power steering control.
According to the update video, Aptera is also preparing to begin assembly of PI3, codenamed “Gemini.” Per Anthony, the SEV will include production-weight components that should help achieve even better efficiency numbers than its track vehicle.
Aside from vehicles, Aptera announced that its solar technology venture is currently in production, assembling an order for its first customer. According to an email from Aptera, that initial delivery was recently completed. Per Anthony:
Though this effort is outside of the vehicle program, things like it can help unlock better material pricing and generate early revenue, which helps support our long-term goals as a company. It’s just one of the examples of how we apply efficiency everywhere we can.
To cap off the update video, Aptera’s co-founder shared plans for several road trips across the continental US this summer, beginning in California before visiting the Midwest, followed by states like Florida and New York. Looking ahead, Aptera has promised a video showcasing its thermal management system and a public event involving Artemis.
One last tidbit that wasn’t in the video was news that Aptera had signed a new partnership with Inmotive Inc. to “explore opportunities for increased efficiency and sustainability in solar-powered transportation.” Per a release, Aptera and Inmotive will work together to integrate the latter’s Ingear two-speed transmission into future solar electric vehicles.
That’s all for now. If you’d like to watch the full update video from Aptera yourself, you can do so below!
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Environment
Japan’s Nippon expected to close acquisition of U.S. Steel at $55 per share, sources say
Japan’s Nippon Steel is expected to close its acquisition of U.S. Steel for $55 per share, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC’s David Faber.
President Donald Trump cleared Nippon’s bid for U.S. Steel on Friday, referring to the deal as a “partnership.” Trump said Nippon will invest $14 billion over the next 14 months. U.S. Steel’s headquarters will remain in Pittsburgh, the president said.
U.S. Steel shares were up more than 1% on Tuesday. The $55 per share bid for U.S. Steel is the offer that Nippon originally made for the company before the deal was blocked in January.
President Joe Biden had blocked Nippon’s bid for U.S. Steel on national security grounds, arguing that the deal will potentially jeopardize critical supply chains. But Trump ordered a new review of the proposed acquisition in April, despite his previous opposition to Nippon acquiring U.S. Steel.
The United Steelworkers union had opposed the Nippon’s bid to acquire U.S. Steel. USW President David McCall said Friday that the union “cannot speculate about the impact” of Trump’s announcement “without more information.
“Our concern remains that Nippon, a foreign corporation with a long and proven track record of violating our trade laws, will further erode domestic steelmaking capacity and jeopardize thousands of good, union jobs,” McCall said in a statement.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that the deal is an “investment, it’s a partial ownership, but it will be controlled by the USA.” Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick told CNBC on Tuesday that U.S. Steel will have an American CEO and a majority of its board members will be from the U.S.
“It’s a national security agreement that will be signed with the U.S. government,” McCormick told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “There’ll be a golden share that will essentially require U.S. government approval of a number of the board members and that will allow the United States to ensure production levels aren’t cut.”
The $14 billion that Nippon will invest includes $2.4 billion that will go to U.S. Steel’s operations at Mon Valley outside Pittsburgh, McCormick said. The deal will save 10,000 jobs in Pennsylvania and add another 10,000 jobs in the building trades to add another arc furnace, the senator said.
When asked what Nippon gets from the deal, McCormick said the Japanese steelmaker will “have certainly members of the board and this will be part of their overall corporate structure.”
“They wanted an opportunity to get access to the U.S. market — this allowed them to do so and get the economic benefit of that,” McCormick said of Nippon. “They’ve negotiated it, it was their proposal.”
Trump said Friday he will hold a rally at U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh on May 30.
Kia has posted details of its 2026 model year EV9 SUV, including updated pricing. Most of the EV9’s third model year carries over from the 2025 version, but there are some cool new customizations and configurations. Additionally, several of the 2026 trims of the Kia EV9 are priced at their lowest to date.
The Kia EV9 has entered its third model year after establishing itself as a slam-dunk of a three-row BEV and a flagship model for the Korean automaker. During its production run, the EV9 has garnered several awards and steady sales as it transitioned production of the BEV to its US plant in Georgia.
As such, the 2025 versions of the Kia EV9 qualify for federal tax credits (while they’re still around). The 2026 versions of the Kia EV9 may also briefly qualify for credits, but the pricing of multiple trims will save consumers a little cash.
We shared how those model-year prices compare below.
Kia lowers a majority of EV9 trim pricing for 2026
Kia shared all the details of its 2026 EV9 models today, including its latest pricing. As mentioned above, most of the updates for the third model year are cosmetic, but there are some (slight) increases to range compared to the 2025 versions.
For example, the Light Long Range EV9 gained a whole extra mile (305 mi), while the Wind and Land trims jumped from 280 miles in 2025 to 283 for 2026. Lastly, the top-tier GT-Line increased the most, gaining 10 miles of range for 2026 (280 miles).
Before we get to EV9 pricing, here are some additional updates, per Kia:
- New Nightfall Edition available on Land trim
- Design and performance enhancements
- Exclusive 20-inch gloss black wheels, black badging, and gloss black trim
- New Roadrider Brown exclusive exterior color
- Exclusive interior seat stitching pattern and design elements
- Offered with both 6-passenger and 7-passenger seating configurations at no extra cost
- All AWD trims (Wind/Land/GT-Line) gain Terrain Mode (Mud/Snow/Sand), which replaces 4WD
- 2026 GT-Line gains two new two-tone exterior color options:
- Glacial White Pearl with Ebony Black roof
- Wolf Gray with Ebony Black roof
Okay, as promised, here’s the 2026 model-year Kia EV9 pricing. For comparison, we’ve included MSRPs for the first three model years of the EV9’s existence so you can see how prices have changed (or held steady). Note that these MSRP’s exclude destination and handling, taxes, title, license fees, options and retailer charges:
| Kia EV9 Trim | 2024 Price | 2025 Price | 2026 Price |
| Light Standard Range | $54,900 | $54,900 | $54,900 |
| Light Long Range | $59,200 | $59,900 | $57,900 |
| Wind | $63,900 | $63,900 | $63,900 |
| Land | $69,900 | $69,900 | $68,900 |
| GT-Line | $73,900 | $73,900 | $71,900 |
As you can see, the Light SR trim of the EV9 held steady at $54,900 for a third consecutive year. The only other RWD option, the Light LR, saw a $2,000 price drop after going up $700 in 2025. The AWD Wind trim once again held steady while the EV9 Land saw a $1,000 decrease.
Last but not least, the 2026 Kia EV9 GT-Line’s pricing dropped $2,000 and is now below $72,000 before taxes and fees. Add the potential for federal tax credits to these drops in 2026 pricing, and now is as good a time as ever to get a shiny new Kia EV9.
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Tesla’s (TSLA) situation in Europe continues to deteriorate, despite electric car sales surging and the new Model Y now being available.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) released the latest complete data for European vehicle sales for April 2025 today, and it confirmed that Tesla’s total sales in EU, EFTA, and UK amounted to 7,261 units – down 49% year-over-year:
Tesla’s deliveries in Europe are now down 38.8% year-over-year for the first four months of the year.
During that same period, battery-electric vehicle sales grew 26.4% in the market and 34.1% in April alone.
Last week, we reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed “every manufacturer” is experiencing demand problems in Europe, with “no exception.”
As we can see from the ACEA data, that’s not true. The Volkswagen Group, Renault, BMW, and SAIC are all up year-to-date and in April.
Tesla’s problems persist into May. The data coming from European markets that report daily car registration shows that Tesla’s Q2 is still tracking barely above Q1 and significantly below Q2 2024:
In Q1 2025, Tesla blamed its poor performance on the Model Y changeover, but it doesn’t have this excuse in Q2.
The automaker is currently offering record discounts and incentives to buy in most markets, including Europe. It also has its new Model Y available, but it is clear that Tesla is suffering from demand problem as its sales are down in virtually all markets.
Electrek’s Take
The narrative that everyone is having demand problems in Europe is not true, mainly when you focus on battery-electric vehicles.
Sales are way up. Tesla is the exception in BEVs.
It’s true that the Model Y changeover had an impact in Q1, but it wasn’t fair to blame the full decline on it. A significant portion of Tesla’s issues in Q1 was related to brand damage, primarily due to its CEO, Elon Musk, and this is now becoming clear in Q2.
There’s room to get worried as competition is only going to get tougher.
The brand damage occurring just as customers are gaining more options is not positive for Tesla.
At this point, it’s not clear what Tesla can do to turn things around in Europe. Distancing itself from Musk could help, but even then, it looks like Tesla would need a lot more to get out of an almost 50% drop.
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