Fresh with funding, Aptera shares solar EV production update ahead of deliveries this year [Video]

Days after completing a $9 million equity raise, solar EV startup Aptera Motors posted its latest progress update video, detailing how it intends to use the fresh funds. While it still has a way to go, Aptera is continuing production of its solar EV validation builds with hopes of delivering SEVs to customers before the end of the year.

As we’ve pointed out multiple times each year, Aptera’s monthly progress updates are always welcome and refreshing, offering the public and the Aptera community (much of which now has a financial stake in the Solar EV startup) a peek behind the curtain of its facilities in Carlsbad, California.

The latest update video focuses heavily on the company’s financial progress, building on news we reported last fall that Aptera had opted for a direct listing on the Nasdaq rather than an IPO or a SPAC merger. This raised, at the very least, a yellow flag of concern for the startup’s future, as it will not benefit financially from said listing.

However, Aptera’s co-founders and co-CEOs, Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro, continue to find clever ways to keep the lights on and push solar EV development forward toward production.  Just before going public as $SEV, Aptera announced a large equity financing round to continue solar EV development and set up its assembly lines.

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Last week, Aptera announced the pricing of a new $9 million public offering, but the terms are put its stock through an immediate stress test, issuing shares at $2.00 – a drastic drop from its $2.41 closing price a day prior.

Earlier this week, Aptera reported that it has completed the equity raise led by institutional investors and totaling roughly $9 million. Chris Anthony addresses this news and explains how those funds, along with the possibility of additional gross proceeds if certain warrants are exercised, will be used to help Aptera finish validating its solar EVs before bona fide production. Be sure to check out the full video from Aptera below.

Aptera’s hopes for solar EV production remain stable

Ok, there’s a lot of notable updates to unpack here, so we will dig right in. And to be clear, I’m just going to summarize everything Aptera shared as it pertains to Solar EV development and production, but if you’d rather use your ears and look at pretty pictures instead of reading my prose, feel free to skip ahead to the video below.

If you’re still here, thank you. I knew you were a real one. Moving on!

To begin, Anthony points out that the previously mentioned equity raise is “the first comprised of large institutional investors.” That sounds encouraging… right?

Anthony describes the move as “very intentional” and explains that if all related warrants are converted, Aptera’s total gross proceeds from the raise could reach $18 million. That’ll help! According to the video, the newly acquired sum is already being used to support solar EV validation builds and preparations for production.

Anthony gives a shout-out to Alliance Global Partners for helping lead the capital raise and keeps the door open for more collaborations with other “new institutional partners.” To put minds at ease, Aptera’s co-CEO said this round of funding adds to the company’s toolkit rather than replacing it.

For example, Aptera still has optionality through its previously announced equity line of credit, as well as its ability to unlock non-dilutive funding, such as its California Energy Commission (CEC) grant. As we’ve pointed out in the past, the grant reimburses the Solar EV startup for purchases like production equipment. Aptera has used $5 million of that grant so far, leaving $17 million remaining.

Regarding validation builds, Anthony shared that Aptera currently has six SEVs under assembly, with four more to follow. These builds will be the best look at what a production-ready Aptera Solar EV will look like, and for the startup, it’s the best idea of what assembly and production processes could eventually look like.

Chris Anthony doesn’t specify a date, but the Aptera email says the company is still targeting customer deliveries in 2026. A lot needs to happen before then, but Aptera carries on!

As promised, you can view the video in its entirety here: