Aptera Eyes Mass Production of Unique Solar Car

Summary

Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast Summary

Episode: Aptera Eyes Mass Production of Unique Solar Car
Date: December 12, 2025
Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec
Guest: Chris Anthony, Co-CEO of Aptera Motors

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on Aptera Motors—a solar car company based in Carlsbad, California—and its journey from startup to near-production of a radically efficient, solar-powered, three-wheeled vehicle. Carol and Tim interview Chris Anthony, Aptera’s co-CEO, about the company's technology, unique design, market challenges, the regulatory landscape, and ambitions to revolutionize clean transportation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Aptera’s Progress and Production Plans

• Current Status: Aptera is in final validation, aiming for full production in 2026.
  • Chris Anthony (03:16): “Yeah, [Ap]terra is currently in final validation and we're looking to press into full production in 2026. And it's just exciting to see the vehicle come together and see solar mobility finally on the road.”

2. Policy Environment and Incentives

• The current U.S. administration might not appear strongly "pro-solar car," but important tax incentives exist, particularly for domestic manufacturers.
  • Carol (03:29): “…the current Zeitgeist is not what you’d consider pro solar car … On the other hand, they've given you a ton of what I must believe are very incentivizing tax rules…especially if you’re going to manufacture in this country, which you are, right?”
• Supply Chain Shift: Aptera is transitioning battery pack production from Korea to the U.S. with state support.
  • Chris Anthony (04:39): “We partnered with LG Chem and a company called CTNS in Korea to make our battery packs. But we're bringing the cell manufacturer over to Tennessee and bringing the equipment over to … Carlsbad, California. That's been assisted by a California Energy Commission grant…”

3. Design Philosophy: Efficiency First

• Aptera began by focusing on maximum efficiency, not traditional market studies, resulting in a unique vehicle.
  • Chris Anthony (05:17): “Most companies start with a minimum viable product … But that's not really where we started. We started with how do we make the most efficient transportation possible. And then it became this solar powered masterpiece…”

4. Market Reception

• Aptera has generated significant interest, with almost 50,000 pre-orders.
  • Chris Anthony (05:41): “…within the first couple weeks of announcing it, we had over 4,000 orders. Now we have almost 50,000 orders for the Aptera.”

5. Performance and Usability

• Range: Standard model offers 400 miles plus solar range; extended versions up to 1,000 miles.
  • Chris Anthony (06:12): “The standard version … gets 400 miles of range, plus it gets the solar charging … We…offer larger range models…up to a thousand miles of range.”
• Charging: Solar panel allows up to 40 miles/day of “free” solar driving—sufficient for most daily commutes.
• Unique Features:
  • Three wheels for reduced resistance and weight; classified as a motorcycle but doesn’t require a motorcycle license or helmet (California regulation).
  • Aerodynamics: 60–70% of fuel at highway speeds is lost to air drag in normal cars—Aptera is designed to minimize this.
    • Chris Anthony (06:52): “…we started with aerodynamics … That's why it looks more like a fish than a box…”

6. Driving Experience

• Quiet Ride: Exceptionally quiet due to aerodynamics.
  • Chris Anthony (08:19): “It's a pleasure to drive. It's super, super quiet. It's kind of eerily quiet because a lot of the noise you hear … is wind noise buffeting off the vehicle at higher speeds … Aptera cuts through the wind so nicely…”
• Performance: 0-60 mph in 5 seconds, top speed 100 mph. Draws attention wherever it goes.
• Regulatory Advantage: Only EV now eligible for California’s HOV lane with no restrictions (due to unique classification).

7. Adventure and Storage

• Off-Grid Use: Equipped for outdoor recreation and camping; 35 cubic feet of storage (up to seven feet long)—capable of holding surfbords, mountain bikes, camping kit.
  • Chris Anthony (09:25): “…you can camp two people comfortably … you can drive 200 miles to your favorite camping spot … and you can come back with more energy in your Aptera than you left with … It’s really a whole new vehicle category. A vehicle that creates its own fuel.”

8. Company Background and Resilience

• Aptera has roots back to 2006; after liquidation, it relaunched twice.
  • Chris Anthony (10:58): “I met Steve Fanbro in 2005. He had a vision for how to make vehicles more efficient … So how would you make the most efficient vehicle possible? And that's what Steve and I set out to bring advanced engineering to…”
  • Result: A 3-wheel, 2,000-pound electric car with 350 MPGe and practical daily solar recharging, sometimes never needing to plug in.

9. Suitability and Target Use Cases

• Versatility: Intended for more than just commuting; suitable for errands, family shopping, and local travel.
• Sizing: Comfortable for tall users up to 6’8” (important to host and listeners).

10. Growth Ambitions and Tesla Comparison

• Aptera aims to deliver 1 million vehicles in the first 10 years (Tesla took 13 years for the same milestone).
  • Chris Anthony (13:54): “We've got almost 50,000 orders, but we hope to deliver up to a million Aptera in the next 10 years. It took Tesla 13 years to deliver their millionth vehicles…”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On crowd reactions:
  • Chris Anthony (08:19): “If you are an introvert, maybe this is not the vehicle for you initially because any Starbucks that you pull up to, you're gonna bring a crowd.”
• On the promise of solar mobility:
  • Chris Anthony (09:25): “It's really a whole new vehicle category. A vehicle that creates its own fuel—there's never been anything like it…you’re also purchasing a lifetime’s worth of fuel with it.”
• On upending the industry:
  • Chris Anthony (10:58): “If you really tackle the problem from a first engineering principles perspective…you end up with a vehicle that looks more like a fish…”
• On future outlook:
  • Chris Anthony (13:54): “We hope to deliver up to a million Aptera in the next 10 years. It took Tesla 13 years to deliver their millionth vehicles. We hope to do it in 10.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:16] – Aptera production status and 2026 timeline
• [04:39] – Shifting battery/supply chain to U.S. production
• [05:17] – Philosophy behind Aptera’s design
• [05:41] – Pre-orders: initial 4,000 to nearly 50,000
• [06:12] – Range and solar charging explanation
• [06:52] – Unique aerodynamic 3-wheel design
• [08:19] – Driving experience and attention the car attracts
• [09:25] – Off-grid/camping capabilities
• [10:58] – Company’s iterative history and engineering-first approach
• [13:54] – Order backlog and 10-year target of 1 million vehicles

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Conclusion

This episode offers a thorough look at how Aptera Motors is blending ultra-efficient vehicle design, solar technology, and startup perseverance to disrupt the EV landscape with a vehicle that promises to save consumers from ever plugging in or buying gas—all with striking aesthetics and practicality for everyday life. Chris Anthony’s vision, the technical details, and the company’s ambitious goals make for an engaging discussion about the future of clean transportation.

Transcript

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[Matt]

Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts Radio News.

[Chris Anthony]

You're listening to Bloomberg Businessweek with Carol.

[Podcast Host]

Massar and Tim Stanvak on Bloomberg Radio.

[Matt]

Driven by the sun and looking like it belongs in outer space. Aptera Motors is a solar mobility company formed back in 2019. It is based on its website. Still in the testing phase, but we wanted to find out exactly what they're up to and where they're headed. Chris Anthony is co CEO. It is a $152 million market cap company. Aptera Motors. The company is based in Carlsb, California and that's exactly where we find Chris the Microcap, by the way, down about 31% from its direct listing on the NASDAQ earlier this year. Hey Chris, good to have you here with Matt and myself. I know he's going to take over in one minute because he's our car guy or one of our car guys. But tell us a little bit about where the company is. You're in your what, sixth year. Tell us about where the car is, where you're going, you're on the road, you're testing. Tell us a little bit about it.

[Chris Anthony]

Yeah, Terra is currently in final validation and we're looking to press into full production in 2026. And it's just exciting to see the vehicle come together and see solar mobility finally on the road.

[Carol]

I was thinking about this interview earlier today and you know, clearly the current Zeitgeist is not what you would consider pro solar car. The administration seems not to be the biggest fan of alternative energy or renewable energy. On the other hand, they've given you a ton of what I must believe are very incentivizing tax rules in the current one big beautiful bill. Especially if you're going to manufacture in this country, which you are, right?

[Chris Anthony]

Yeah, we're manufacturing in Carlsbad, California. But you know, there is a global supply chain for, for vehicles like this and we hope that, you know, there's enough investment in the US to bring more and more of that supply chain, you know, over in time.

[Carol]

What are the critical pieces that you need, like what do you need to import and, and pay tariffs on and what can you get from this country in order to build your car?

[Chris Anthony]

You know, initially we partnered with LG Chem and a company called CTNS in Korea to make our battery packs. But we're bringing the cell manufacturer over to Tennessee and bringing the equipment over to manufacture our battery packs here in Carlsbad, California. So that's been assisted by a California Energy Commission grant and we hope to, you know, have all that production here in the U.S. hopefully by the end of 2026, maybe 2027.

[Matt]

What's the, the, the most difficult aspect of what you're doing and trying to, to create a market essentially for it and, and then ramp up. Like what is the trickiest part right here?

[Chris Anthony]

Yeah, you know, most companies start with a minimum viable product and transportation. You know, it's kind of about the styling of the vehicle and how many cup holders it has, how many passengers. But that's not really where we started. We started with how do we make the most efficient transportation possible. And then it became this solar powered masterpiece that we have now. But we really didn't know what kind of market there was. We weren't able to study the market for something that didn't exist. So we kind of had to Just build what we wanted to bring to the world and then hope that people really liked it. And luckily within the first couple weeks of announcing it, we had over 4,000 orders. Now we have almost 50,000 orders for the Aptera. And you know, we think people are really excited about transportation built for efficiency's sake and something that can be solar powered, something that you never have to worry about putting gas in. It's something you never have to worry about plugging it in.

[Matt]

Do you have to worry about range?

[Chris Anthony]

The standard version of The Aptera gets 400 miles of range, plus it gets the solar charging that it gets every day just by leaving it out in the sun. But we do offer larger range models of our Aptera up to a thousand miles of range.

[Carol]

So that's easily enough. Yeah, for like my daily commute. The car looks really, I mean it looks cool, looks weird. It looks different. It's a three wheeler. I guess that would be so that you can classify it as a motorcycle. Correct me if I'm wrong. And you've got these outboard fenders on the front, two wheels and then one wheel in the back. Tell us about the design.

[Chris Anthony]

Yeah. You know, what most people don't realize is that 60 to 70% of your fuel at highway speeds just goes to pushing air out of the way if you're in a typical SUV or sedan. So we started, you know, with aerodynamics when it comes to making transportation more efficient. That's why it looks more like a fish than a box. And with something that looks so unique, you also want to eliminate, you know, any weight you can. So it's very lightweight. And that made it three wheels. So there's less rolling resistance, less weight. And that three wheels had some unique advantages and they were classified as a motorcycle. But because it's three wheels, you don't have to have a motorcycle's license because you have something over your head. You don't have to wear a helmet. And in California, EVs are no longer allowed gratis admission to the HOV lane, the high occupancy vehicle lane. So we'll be the only EV that's able to drive in the HOV lane without any restrictions.

[Carol]

So it's, that's interesting that you can get it. You can sort of weave through different regulations with three wheeled vehicle. And that's why you've seen some of the coolest experimental vehicles from the Morgan three wheeler to this Aptera car. It's got room for two people inside. Right. As well as, I guess, luggage or a pet. Or whatever you want to bring along. What's it like when you're driving around? I mean, everybody must be rubbernecking.

[Matt]

How come you haven't driven one yet?

[Carol]

Yeah, how come I haven't driven one yet, Chris?

[Chris Anthony]

Well, we need to get you in one soon, Matt. It's, it's a pleasure to drive. It's super, super quiet. It's kind of eerily quiet because a lot of the noise you hear in a typical SUV or sedan is wind noise buffeting off the vehicle at higher speeds. But because the Aptera cuts through the wind so nicely, you don't really get a lot of that. So it's very different kind of driving experience. It's quick, it's 0 to 60 in 5 seconds. Top speed 100 miles an hour. And you know, it's, it's definitely something that gets attention. If you are an introvert, maybe this is not the vehicle for you initially because any Starbucks that you pull up to, you're gonna, you're gonna bring a crowd.

[Carol]

But you can take it off the beaten path, right? I mean, I, I'm sure I've seen the website because I recall pictures of maybe the Aptera on a beach or, or in the woods. It comes with, or you can buy, I guess, camping gear or a kit that goes along with it so that you can. Plus the fact that it's solar charging, you can charge with the sun up to 40 miles a day. Right. Means that you can really take it off, off the grid.

[Chris Anthony]

It's a little deceptive. On the storage is actually 35 cubic feet of storage in the back. If you put the front seat forward and the passenger side, you have seven feet of space from the tail to the tip. So you can put surfboards back there. Mountain bikes, you can actually leave the hatch up. And there's a camping kit where there's a tent that goes over the back of the vehicle. So you can camp two people comfortably. But most importantly, it's very cool to think that you can drive 200 miles to your favorite camping spot. You can camp for a week and you can come back with more energy in your Aptera than you left with. Unless it rains or no, it does get less solar production. You know, if it's super cloudy or if it rains, you know, if it's cloudy, you can count on maybe half of the energy production. You know, if it's a white out snow, obviously you're not going to get much solar. But it's really a whole new vehicle category. A vehicle that creates its own fuel there's never been anything like it where you purchase the vehicle and you're also purchasing a lifetime's worth of fuel with it.

[Matt]

Yeah. Hey, we're talking with Chris Anthony, co chief executive officer of Aptera Motors, joining us from Carlsbad, California. You know, I mentioned that the company began in 2016, but it's really like an iteration of a company that goes back a while. I think going back to actually 2006 was a company. I think it was liquidated. It came back as a second company, and now it's the third company. Is there anything like, if someone, you know, Googles, they might be like, God, this feels a little uncomfortable. Anything that connects you to kind of the history of this company from day one?

[Chris Anthony]

You know, I met Steve Fanbro in 2005. He had a vision for how to make vehicles more efficient. He was a bit perplexed that there are some vehicles on the road that you would think should be efficient. You know, things that look aerodynamic. You know, a VW Bug, why doesn't that get more than 50 miles per gallon? It really all comes down to the aerodynamic losses, the weight losses. So how would you make the most efficient vehicle possible? And that's what Steve and I set out to bring advanced engineering to, is if you really tackle the problem from a first engineering principles perspective, what do you end up with? Now you end up with a vehicle looks more like a fish. It's about £2,000, it has three wheels, and it has an electric powertrain because that's the most efficient way to get energy to the wheels. You know, by happenstance, we created something that gets some. Some 350 miles per gallon equivalent. And when you do that, you can put a relatively small solar package on top, but get really useful range. We get about 40 miles a day of free power just from leaving the uptair out in the sun. So if you're like the average American and you only drive 30 miles a day, 40 miles a day of solar charging is great. You just never have to plug the vehicle in. You just leave it outside, and it takes care of all your average driving needs.

[Matt]

So, Chris, is this something that you really see for local driving? I'm curious if it tops out at 65 miles an hour, or is it. Does it. How fast can it go and can it be on highways or what's your V Max, dude? Thank you.

[Chris Anthony]

Yeah, your. The. The suspension handling characteristics are great. You know, it's a very spirited drive, zero to 60 in five seconds, but you're actually faster. You know, at the upper ends of the speed, you know, 30 to 60, you know, is faster. And a top speed of 100 miles an hour, so definitely driving it on the highway. It's, it's made to be a Southern California vehicle. You know, lots of sun out here. It's made to be more than, you know, just a commuter vehicle. You can, you know, take it and, you know, do the family shopping. You can, you know, pick up the kids from the school. You can, you know, do a lot with this vehicle. And in terms of usability, I also.

[Carol]

See that it can fit individuals of up to six foot eight, which is important for me because you're six. I'm six four. But I want, I need leg room, right? I don't. I get claustrophobic in normal cars and planes, so I need my space. And by the way, zero to 60 in five seconds. When I was in college, that was what a 911 was doing. So that's respectable, really respectable. I mean, there's still a lot of cars that can't do that. Of course, you got the instant torque here, getting up to 100 miles an hour. I rarely exceed that speed when I'm driving to and from work. I try to come close when there's nobody around. How many orders have you got for this? I mean, how many people do you think you're going to sell this car to when it goes into final production?

[Matt]

20 seconds.

[Chris Anthony]

Yeah, we've got almost 50,000 orders, but we hope to deliver up to a million Aptera in the next 10 years. It took Tesla 13 years to deliver their millionth vehicles. We hope to do it in 10.

[Matt]

Well, I can't wait for Matt to try it out and report back and then you can come back on with us. Chris. Chris Anthony, co CEO of Aptera Motors, joining us.

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