Aptera’s self-charging, solar-powered car is (nearly) ready for production

Probably of better use in sunny California than perennially grey England, but still: it’s 2025, and we’ve got a solar-powered car. Nearly.

California’s Aptera Motors has revealed the final ‘production-intent’ version of its sun-fuelled EV… which is also called Aptera and will be unveiled at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.

Aptera explains the Aptera is now at a ‘final developmental stage’, testing the three-wheel electric car’s “production-intent design, production components and critical performance metrics such as range, solar charging capability and efficiency”.

Ah yes, range. In 2019 when we first saw the Aptera Aptera EV, the company claimed up to 1,000 miles of range from a single charge, and up to 40 miles of sun-fuelled driving ‘per day’. In 2025, Aptera is now quoting 400 miles of range from a single charge, along with the same 40 miles of daily sun-drenched driving.

If you live in England, you’ll be unfamiliar with this so-called ‘sun’; as such, Aptera claims the Aptera can fast charge from a plug in under an hour affording you those 400 miles. (Whether the 1,000-mile car is still on the table remains to be seen – we’ll report back as soon as we hear more.)

As for those production components, the Aptera Aptera gets 700 watts worth of integrated solar cells, a lightweight, composite body, three in-wheel electric motors, all-wheel-drive, and two seats to enjoy a 0-60mph time of four seconds and top speed of 101mph.

Ah yes, ‘production-intent design’. Aptera notes how it’s been working with a small, relatively unknown Italian coachbuilder by the name of ‘Pininfarina’. So-called ‘Pininfarina’ has helped make the Aptera’s already slippery bodyshape even more slippery to eke out as much range as possible and achieve a super-low CoD, using its Turin-based wind tunnel.

We jest, of course. Pininfarina’s one of the best in the business, with a back catalogue of stone-cold hits and a knack for crafting aero-friendly shapes. And this one’s just as aero-friendly, with a claimed drag coefficient of 0.13.

“We have always made aerodynamics an essential component in design at Pininfarina,” said Giuseppe Bonollo, Pininfarina’s ‘business unit mobility’ SVP.

Ah yes, business. Aptera tells us that since launch, it’s taken $1.7bn worth of pre-orders with 50,000 Apteras reserved across the globe. Using possibly wholly inaccurate Top Gear Maths, that makes each car worth around an average of $34k a pop.

So if you live in somewhere like sunny California, Aptera claims most drivers won’t have to ever plug in to charge because of all that free sunny goodness. YMMV, of course, but still: it’s 2025, and we’ve got a solar-powered car. Nearly.