How Aptera ranks among EV brands on social media

[amosbatto]

After arguing with the people at r/ApteraMotors, I wrote this blog article:

How Aptera ranks among EV brands on social media

The rise of social media over the last 2 decades has dramatically transformed how people learn about and interact with the products that they buy. Traditionally, people were largely passive recipie…

amosbbatto.wordpress.com

I would like to hear your thoughts on the article, and any feedback on the accuracy of the article.

 

[Kerbe]

After arguing with the people at r/ApteraMotors, I wrote this blog article:

How Aptera ranks among EV brands on social media

The rise of social media over the last 2 decades has dramatically transformed how people learn about and interact with the products that they buy. Traditionally, people were largely passive recipie…

amosbbatto.wordpress.com

I would like to hear your thoughts on the article, and any feedback on the accuracy of the article.

While I can't say that I found the topic interesting I will say that it appears to have been very well-researched. You do keep referring to Aptera as a "solar car" - which is both misleading and inappropriate: In standard English parlance, "car" and "automobile" are used interchangeably and Aptera is neither of those. Aptera is classified as an "autocycle" in most jurisdictions and as a "motorcycle" in the remainder. Aptera Motors refers to their vehicle as a "Solar Electric Vehicle".

The term, "solar car", is most commonly applied to vehicles that are charged entirely by and/or run directly from solar energy. As some of the comments you included show, there are those who don't understand that Aptera is an electric vehicle that can ALSO be charged from onboard solar panels. IMHO, Aptera needs to better clarify its message: Right now it's mainly "preaching to the choir"...

Those who go on about no one wanting an Aptera and the unsustainability of selling fewer than millions of vehicles per year need to be reminded that there are PLENTY of 2-seat, low-volume vehicles on the market. Chevrolet, for example, produces (and sells) just about 58,000 two-seat Corvettes each year, all coming from a single, dedicated factory. No one EVER complains that you can't fit a family of five in a Corvette or that it doesn't look like every other vehicle on the road...

 

[amosbatto]

While I can't say that I found the topic interesting I will say that it appears to have been very well-researched. You do keep referring to Aptera as a "solar car" - which is both misleading and inappropriate: In standard English parlance, "car" and "automobile" are used interchangeably and Aptera is neither of those. Aptera is classified as an "autocycle" in most jurisdictions and as a "motorcycle" in the remainder. Aptera Motors refers to their vehicle as a "Solar Electric Vehicle".

The term, "solar car", is most commonly applied to vehicles that are charged entirely by and/or run directly from solar energy. As some of the comments you included show, there are those who don't understand that Aptera is an electric vehicle that can ALSO be charged from onboard solar panels. IMHO, Aptera needs to better clarify its message: Right now it's mainly "preaching to the choir"...

To be fair to Aptera Motors, they call it a "solar electric vehicle" on their web site, so I'm the one who is guilty of calling it a "solar car". Most people don't know what an "autocycle" is, so it is a poor term from the point of view of marketing. A number of reviewers have commented that the Aptera drives and feels like a normal car (aside from the visibility issues), so I can see why many of the reviewers refer to it as a "car".

The bigger issue is whether there is enough demand for a two-seat vehicle, since the market for two-seaters is currently very limited. You might want to read my previous article where the issue of demand is discussed. See: Why the Aptera solar car represents a paradigm shift for the auto industry

Personally, I foresee the demand being much higher than the critics predict, but I also think that it will take a while for normal people to figure out the advantages of a 3-wheeled, two-seater solar vehicle, and I don't expect mainstream adoption until Aptera releases its next vehicle which is rumored to be a 4 wheel sedan, but that will be far in the future (assuming the company survives).

 

[Kerbe]

The bigger issue is whether there is enough demand for a two-seat vehicle, since the market for two-seaters is currently very limited.

FYI: Here's a list of the 2-seater automobiles currently available from legacy automakers in the US, listed by number of sales.

• Nissan: Nissan Z
• Toyota: GR Supra
• Chevrolet: Corvette (Stingray, Z06, E-Ray, ZR1)
• Porsche: 718 Cayman, 718 Boxster, and variants (Spyder RS)
• BMW: Z4 Roadster
• Aston Martin: Vantage and Vanquish
• Lamborghini: Revuelto, Temerario
• McLaren: Artura, 750S, W1
• Lotus: Emira
• Ferrari: 296
• Maserati: MC20
• Audi: R8

 

[insightman]

FYI: Here's a list of the 2-seater automobiles currently available from legacy automakers in the US, listed by number of sales.

• Nissan: Nissan Z
• Toyota: GR Supra
• Chevrolet: Corvette (Stingray, Z06, E-Ray, ZR1)
• Porsche: 718 Cayman, 718 Boxster, and variants (Spyder RS)
• BMW: Z4 Roadster
• Aston Martin: Vantage and Vanquish
• Lamborghini: Revuelto, Temerario
• McLaren: Artura, 750S, W1
• Lotus: Emira
• Ferrari: 296
• Maserati: MC20
• Audi: R8

I'm glad that back in 1999, when Honda still had guts, they made me a 2-seat, all-aluminum, Honda Insight gas-electric hybrid on the same production line that made the 2-seat NSX and the 2-seat S2000. I liked my 2000 Insight so much that, in 2006, I bought the last one I could order and drove it until 2019, when repair parts started to become scarce.

Being a very lightweight, super-efficient vehicle, The Aptera is the closest concept to Honda's original Insight. Sadly, with each succeeding generation, Honda kept making the Insight bigger and heavier and now the name has been attached to an electric crossover built in China. Honda will probably never make another 2-seat automobile.

 

[Kerbe]

I'm glad that back in 1999, when Honda still had guts, they made me a 2-seat, all-aluminum, Honda Insight gas-electric hybrid on the same production line that made the 2-seat NSX and the 2-seat S2000. I liked my 2000 Insight so much that, in 2006, I bought the last one I could order and drove it until 2019, when repair parts started to become scarce.

Being a very lightweight, super-efficient vehicle, The Aptera is the closest concept to Honda's original Insight. Sadly, with each succeeding generation, Honda kept making the Insight bigger and heavier and now the name has been attached to an electric crossover built in China. Honda will probably never make another 2-seat automobile.

And the Civic is now nearly the size of "my father's Oldsmobile"!