Aptera's Job One deadline comes and goes without a word
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Aptera 2e
The problem with setting (or at least publicly announcing) deadlines is that they have a way of sneaking up on you. Aptera has already missed their self-imposed deadline that was set at the end of 2008 and pushed retail deliveries back to October 2009. When the company announced that delay, they also said, "Despite our well-intentioned efforts, we were unable to complete that vehicle before the close of the year, so it's now slated for January 16." Well, that's today, and we've heard bupkis about Job One today.
The Aptera website's news section doesn't have a new release, but does say, "we're working hard towards our production launch." We've asked Aptera for an update, and will have news for you as soon as we get it. Tip submitted by Jason C., who asks: Why do they keep giving release dates when they know they cant deliver?
Gallery: Aptera 2e
[Source: Aptera]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
paul 8:00PM (1/16/2009)
listen to the evcast they did produce a vehicle and they completed yesterday.
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Scott B. 9:18PM (1/16/2009)
Are you really going to try to defend Aptera on this one. They have not handed off anything. This is all PR BS!! Those of us on the waiting list are losing interest fast...
http://apteraforum.com/showthread.php?t=2067
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meme 1:41AM (1/17/2009)
Handed off what? Today's deadline was never about handing anything off. It was about completing the first 2e, which they did.
Yes, there are some people on the Aptera Forum who are not happy with the pace of information release. There are more who are quite happy with them. I'm one of them.
Emi Sands 9:32PM (1/16/2009)
Autobloggreen is correct!
All the EVCast said was Fambro turned over the keys to the Aptera he has been driving for 4 months over to another employee "Marques"
They did this more out of a PR stint than anything else. They were getting heat over not having a production car meet the deadline they touted to get deposits and investors. It's pretty easy to see through this.
Transcript from EVCast below:
Steve Fambro: " drove the Typ-1 for 3-4 months until "Marques took it away from me."
They are calling this the first production vehicle changing hands. (Kind of sad they thought everyone would buy this).
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meme 1:37AM (1/17/2009)
Practice your listening comprehension, will you?
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"So, what'll happen is, like I told you before, with the whole rollout plan, is as we continue to build these preproduction vehicles... actually, the first preproduction vehicle was completed yesterday, and we'll be talking a bit about that to our newsletter readers and a little bit more to the public."
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Steve was driving "Zen", which was the internal name for the Mk1 prototype that was introduced a little over a year ago. This is the model that's been shown off all over the country. They explicitly stated that they took Zen away from him, and that he'll be driving a preproduction vehicle soon. Zen is *not* a 2e. It's an earlier concept vehicle, a Typ-1.
Furthermore, there never was talk of a vehicle changing hands anyways. This deadline was about completing the first 2e. This deadline was met. This deadline was not about delivery. Talk about a straw man. Next thing you know, you'll be criticizing Aptera for breaking a promise by not leading a parade of dinosaurs wearing tutus.
paul 11:33PM (1/16/2009)
Am I going to defend them?
Kind of...
I think they are trying to do something that is not exactly easy.
I think they need to start under promising and over delivering. Which is just the opposite of what they are doing right now. But out of all of the start ups out there I think they have the best shot. It seems Steve has hired an experienced team, they have funding, and I think they will have a good product. The kicker will be the price.It sounds like it will be between 25-40K which is a huge range. But from what I heard I think they are going to have different drive trains and different battery setups etc.. Which is pretty genius if this is the case because they won't be dependent on one battery suppler and they might be able to get the price down for the batteries with the competition.
Very interesting times for aptera. Especially with the test drives coming up in a couple of weeks at the TED conference.
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meme 1:05AM (1/17/2009)
Sebastian: You need to post a retraction for smearing them like this. They *did* announce it today, on EVCast. Both Marques and Steve were there. There were tons of new details. Not as much as some insatiable critics demand, but still lots of new info -- rollout schedule for outside CA, first test drives, when crash testing will be, battery chemistry, reasons for the delay (the short of it: QC), and on and on down the line.
Do you actually run a site like this and not listen to EVCast?
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truthiness 3:38AM (1/18/2009)
I heard the same EVcast, and I don't think that the statements in the EVcast justify a retraction of the Sebastian's post.
mister nomer 4:19PM (1/17/2009)
"Jason C., who asks: Why do they keep giving release dates when they know they cant deliver?"
Probably for the same reason that Boeing kept saying that the 787 is almost ready and that Airbus kept saying that the A380 is almost ready.
That is, they actually thought they could deliver and then they were proved wrong.
Bringing new technology to market is hard and sometimes, even experienced PhDs and MBAs make big, big mistakes.
Cut 'em some slack, dude.
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Emi 5:10PM (1/17/2009)
No retraction is needed. Thank Goodness for Autobloggreen as they stay on top of the blatant empty promises Aptera makes.
Aptera has been given more than enough slack. They treat the deposit holders like crap and the PR is horrible. You find out more information from outside sources than you can from them directly. The flat out lie about release dates. This is observable fact!
Also, the EVcast of the hand off of a "pre production" model is just Fambro giving a stock Aptera that has been sitting around for months to an employee to give the illusion of progress.
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meme 9:29PM (1/17/2009)
"The flat out lie about release dates. This is observable fact!"
No, it's observable fact that they met their deadline (beat it by a day), and had not one but two top execs give an interview about it.
"Also, the EVcast of the hand off of a "pre production" model is just Fambro giving a stock Aptera that has been sitting around for months to an employee to give the illusion of progress."
That flatly contradicts the transcript. Since you're choosing to make stuff up rather than discuss what was actually said, you might as well get more creative. Is Steve now riding a tyrannosaurus? Or is he secretly an alien?
meomy 12:29AM (1/26/2009)
I have a deposit on an Aptera and have been a huge supporter from day one, I follow their progress closely but sadly I can tell you that every negative comment above mine is true and they do mislead greatly. They were supposed to deliver the first cars in Oct of 08 and a few months before they changed it to Oct of 09. Then they said the first pre-production will be released in Jan to a "non retail customer" but in fact it is just their newest prototype car. Again, I am a hard core EV supporter but Aptera is playing games with deposit holders and they are the last to receive info. They need to hire real marketing people not slick car sales people as it is discrediting their business. Their orders were increasing recently and now are flat and people are canceling or will cancel. Aptera, communicate better with your prospective customers or you will lose them and your opportunity to succeed! The transcript of EV cast was was them changing what they promised and failing to mention it.
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Kevin Skjei 1:08AM (4/03/2009)
The think I hate about these forums is how anonymous people can get away with saying just about anything.
I am deposit holder 461h. I am happy with the information I have received, and have been impressed with the prompt responses to my inquiries.
Give them a break - they are building the first real PHEV. This is new territory - they are going to learn some things as they go.
Looking forward to the first of the 6 public rollouts this Saturday in San Diego. Hoping AutoBlogGreen will be there too.
Kevin Skjei
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