Aptera, the would-be manufacturer of a streamlined, plastic-bodied electric car, has closed its doors after failing to raise $150 million in private investment to activate a federally guaranteed loan commitment for an additional $150 million.
The Southern California based company made waves with a three-wheeled, bicycle-fendered, teardrop-shaped EV but said today that it had quietly developed a prototype mid-size four-door sedan using the same composite materials and electric drive technology developed for the three-wheeler. It was that vehicle, said Aptera CEO Paul Wilbur, that had won the company the Energy Department’s commitment for a $150 million loan guarantee, conditioned on the company raising a matching amount in the private investment market.
“The economy just wasn’t with us,” Wilbur told Edmunds.com. “We were hampered by the global economic condition and by a strict non-disclosure agreement with the Energy Department” that prohibited Aptera from telling potential investors about the matching loan. He said the prototype Aptera sedan was tested at 130 miles of range on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery and used a industry-first direct recharging system that allowed the battery pack to be recharged directly from any 240-volt outlet in about an hour.
Wilbur said that Aptera – which was founded nearly half a decade ago and had gone through more than $40 million in investor funds – had “fewer than 30” employees when it shut its doors Friday morning.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Related: 2010 Aptera 2e First Drive and Video
levyrob says:
02:38 PM, 12/ 2/11
This car looks somewhat like a space-age version of the Dale. Anyone remember the Dale?
mrjost55 says:
02:48 PM, 12/ 2/11
Why am I not surprised...
motorstreet says:
03:04 PM, 12/ 2/11
This isn't surprising, but it's sad to see Aptera go. I liked this car's futuristic design, it looks like it would be fun, the range would be reasonable, and it wouldn't need tons of batteries.
brn says:
04:25 PM, 12/ 2/11
It's too bad. Aptera did a lot of things right in EV design. Someone else will probably learn from their work and make a profit. The rewards don't always go to the right people.
swollentires says:
07:35 PM, 12/ 2/11
This is what cars were supposed to look like and drive like by now if it werent for the powers that be.
transpower says:
06:54 AM, 12/ 3/11
I'm totally opposed to government risking taxpayer money, and I think the Department of Energy should be closed. Let's let the free market operate. If you have a great vehicle idea you should be able to raise the money privately.
michael_s says:
10:21 AM, 12/ 3/11
transpower,
The free market is awesome, but it doesn't care about politics or national security. So keeping jobs in the US doesn't matter to the free market. Reducing our dependence upon foreign oil, and the damage that oil price fluctuations can do to the economy, doesn't matter to the free market. The fact that we put billions of dollars per year into countries that hate us like Bolivia and countries with religious fanatics that imprison or execute women for being raped like Saudi Arabia doesn't matter to the free market.
The market exists to benefit the country, not the other way around. Sometimes the people of that country need to put into place policies that stop the market from being totally free in order to protect our own economy, our national security, our health, or human rights.
Mind you, I'm not saying thousands of pages of regulations and billions of dollars in taxpayer funds should be tossed around willy nilly.
lt1boy says:
11:45 AM, 12/ 3/11
I wonder how well the Aptera would fare being t-boned by a truck.
compressor says:
12:16 PM, 12/ 3/11
lt1boy,
how would a truck fare being t-boned by a semi
wallabyguy says:
02:56 PM, 12/ 3/11
A great product missing the needed investment. A real shame as it was much more advanced than Tesla or Fisker in design and engineering.
Oh and yes, it had a very good safety structure.
gtrguy2012 says:
08:41 PM, 12/ 3/11
hahahahahahahahahahah no way! They failed? Shocking.
stovt001 says:
09:59 PM, 12/ 3/11
I'm shocked, SHOCKED to find that gambling is going on in this establishment.
rayzor says:
05:59 AM, 12/ 4/11
Too bad! But I am sure that they can sell some of the design, patents, tech to others...It was a unique and likable EV, sad for another Cali company to go down, especially near the holiday season...
veryhrm says:
01:53 AM, 12/ 5/11
I'm sorry to see them go, but i don't get it:
If they only had 30 employees and have "only" spent $40M over 5 years their burn rate can't be that big. What, maybe $5M or $10M/year ? So if they couldn't keep the doors open this implies that they couldn't raise ANY more new money, let alone $150M...
i think the electric car thing is a bit overblown, but it's certainly more worthwhile than playing Farmville on the iphone 6 or whatever it is that society is currently pumping its money into.