Teslas and other electric vehicles are great, as their lifetime overall pollutants are anywhere from 2x to more than 10x less compared to petrol- and diesel-powered cars. But if those electric vehicles are still using an energy grid that uses coal, nuclear, or some other dirty fuel, has it really solved the problem? As more and more electric vehicles are produced, more demand is placed upon the electrical grid, which in turn, might result in more coal-fired or nuclear-powered facilities.
Electric vehicles have not been made efficient enough to merit putting solar panels upon them. Not even Teslas, which are some of the most efficient electric vehicles on the market today. That is all about to change, once the new car company, Aptera, starts going into production, slated sometime in the beginning of 2023. It uses less than 100 watt-hours per mile, making it more than 2.5 times efficient as a Tesla. The Aptera is a solar electric vehicle that is so efficient that it will be able to go up to 40 miles per day on its solar panels alone. Now, it will be less than this during the winter and at higher latitudes, but the average driver will still likely tax the electrical grid somewhere around 10 times less than the average electric vehicle. This is huge. The major drawback to this car is that it is a 3-wheeled vehicle that seats only two people, so it may not be suited for families unless used as a commuter car. But it does have a large cargo area, large enough to supposedly fit a surf board. And because it has only three wheels, it is lighter and less expensive to build, starting with a base price of only $25,900 and a 250-mile range, with options of up to 1,000 miles on battery power alone. Also, while it does not qualify for the $7500 EV tax credit because it is a 3-wheeled vehicle, there are many states like Oregon, California, and Colorado where it may qualify for their rebates, making this car even more accesible to low-income earners. To see the full list of participating states, click here. Also, because it will be the least polluting and least taxing on the power grid of any electric vehicle, the Aptera is the most qualified of any car in existence for the federal tax credit. I would strongly encourage you to write to your US senators and your US representative, asking for it to be included.
What about safety? The Aptera is made up of light-weight composite materials 7 times stronger than steel. That, in addition to its curved structure, will make it one of the strongest vehicles on the road today. What about stability? Because the two wheels are in the front, not the back, and because of its low center of gravity, the Aptera should be a very stable car. And at 88" wide, it is wider than a Lamborghini, so it will likely handle curves better than most cars. In many ways, the Aptera is like a sports car, with the all-wheel drive version going from 0-60 mph in about 3.5 seconds. Also, it is extremely aerodynamic in all directions, so side winds from trucks or passing cars should not affect it anymore than most vehicles. It also will have airbags and a nose cone that will be designed to crumple to act as a cushion in a head-on collision. That will likely be the only part that will crumple. There should be no way to get crushed in this car, even if you somehow manage to roll it. The only concern I can think of in terms of safety is that it might not be as visible to other cars on the highway. So I would recommend not driving in people's blind spots, which is good practice no matter what car you are driving in.
The Aptera is a revolution in the electric vehicle industry, and very well could be a real solution to making truly environmental vehicles accessible to people of all income levels. If you click on the link below, you can get $30 off of the fully-refundable $100 reservation fee. Future owners will get to try out their new vehicle, and if they don't like it for any reason within the first week or 1000 miles (whichever comes first), they can return it for a full refund.
PS: You might think of waiting to see how the reviews are once it comes out. If you really are interested in one, keep in mind that this is a small company, and they only plan on building about 12,000 cars per year once they get into full production. There are approximately 40,000 people on the waitlist (as of January 2023). Not all of them are going to buy one, but currently it is estimated to be about a two-year wait time if you reserve now. If you wait and see and it lives up to its billing, everybody will want one, and the wait time could be 5 years or more at that point. On the other hand, if the reviews aren't that great, you can always get your $70 back.
PPS: If you think that this is too good to be true and might be a scam, I would encourage you to do your own Google and Youtube searches on Aptera. You can reserve one directly through their website but you won't get the $30 discount, so I would recommend bookmarking this page. I have two motivations for doing all of this: If you reserve through me, I can get $1000 off my own Aptera if you buy one. You will also get your own link so that if you have friends and family who want to reserve one, you will get the same discount as I do. My second motivation is that I truly believe Aptera is a real answer to all of the pollution created by cars, even electric vehicles. The Aptera won't overtax the electrical grid and cause more coal-fired plants to be built. But Aptera is still starting up as a company. It has no multibillionaire like Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk to jumpstart it and get it off of the ground. So unless people like you and me support it by reserving a car...this dream will not become a reality.