Aptera raises $40 million to produce its solar electric vehicle later this year

San Diego-based solar electric vehicle (SEV) startup Aptera has raised $40 million in its latest round of funding, and plans to use this capital to start producing its SEV by later this year. The company thanked those involved in the funding round for their “role as a driving force in the successes of the company". The company has already revealed several prototype three-wheeler EVs but none of those were ever sold to the public.

The company was originally founded 17 years ago and was re-formed as Aptera Motors Corp in 2019. It revealed its latest design in 2020 and that is what its production car will be based on. The vehicle has a remarkably low 0.13 drag coefficient and offers up to 1,000 miles of range.

The Aptera SEV has already received over 22,000 reservations and the company still has booking open for $100. The company's website is offering a full configurator of the SEV, with prices ranging from $25,900 to $50,700 depending on specification.

The vehicle comes in four battery options illustrated by range: 250 miles, 400 miles, 600 miles and 1,000 miles. It can accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 3.5 seconds with the largest battery equipped. FWD is standard while AWD can be had for an extra $2,500.

The base car comes with solar panels on the roof and dash while one can equip panels on the hood and rear hatch as well. The SEV startup claims that one can get up to 40 miles of solar-powered driving per day. However, this depend on where one lives, for example, those in Las Vegas will undoubtedly average more solar range than someone in Seattle.