How Aptera Can Rethink Charging

[onomonopedia]

Aptera SHOULD name the 1000 mile version the "CANNONBALL" EDITION!

[michaelbramel]

You addressed many of the issues I've been wondering about Aptera charging...I feel caught up to what we know at this point in time. To the matter of Aptera being able to rely more on home charging rates rather than higher priced DCFC stations, I'd add that Aptera efficiencies will make 110v charging more useful than it is to most other EVs.

[jonathanwest]

Commerical drivers now have e-logs to the minute. For me to but 100 gallons into my truck takes 8 minutes, but to wash my hands, empty my bladder refill my coffee mug and pay the clerk is 12 minutes. So that is a 20 minute stop. And after 4-5 hours of driving most people want a 20-30 minute break.

[Dr.Gehrig]

Yeah. I'm on reserve for a 400 debut model, but once a 1, 000 mile range one with full bidirectional charging comes out I'm trading up.

[GOLFandWRX]

Bolt is 50kW because it was designed in 2014 and manufactured in 2016 - this was state-of-the art in 2014. By 2016, 150 kW was the new "standard" but the engineering for the Bolt was already done (2014) and they didn't see any reason to update this. I was involved at this time trying to urge them to upgrade 2018 to 100-150 kW...I was told there would be an "update" when it is redesigned.

[DrTeeHenry]

It's been discussed recently on AOC's Discord about how (mostly ICE) people think about range. To some extent, they do think about mpg or mi/kWh, but the real world practicality (especially for road trips) is "how often do I have to stop and how long do I have to sit there and charge?" The 500 miles/hour charge rate for the Aptera should be very reassuring.

[stevendunn]

I avoid charging at any fast charger if I can. My home energy cost is 1/5 that of the .50 - .60 at a fast charger.

[nosoupforyou]

Drive 300 miles to work that is out of state, 200 miles during that work week, then 300 miles back home on Friday - 1000 mile aptera is a dream come true. Currently do this in a model x. Additionally, after 10 years in an electric I do want max charger speeds in the 300kwh range

[ScottOstr]

Years-from-now version: 2000 mile range solid-state, heat pump, vented seats that can fold completely flat, L3 charging 100 miles per 5 minute charging 🧙‍♂️

[Zyzzyx]

Definitely need to consider overall speed for road trips. Include the timing for stops and chargings (car and human). Road tripping the inland west (WA, OR, ID, NV, CA) in my diesel van I generally figure that my 'overall' average is ~50mph. I tend to stop whenever and wherever to look at cool stuff, take a nap, or just take a 5 minute walk. I intend to take the Aptera on some similar drives, and probably won't be too far off the same 'overall' average speed.

[MrRickMeister]

During your last visit to Aptera you got the opportunity to see future Aptera designs. I know you can't talk about them, but can you say if you liked what you saw or not?

[pingnick]

It seems likely they’ll do vehicle to grid for the 1, 000 mile option in particular! You can make LOTS of money in some places and wow good for camping etc too🔋🤯

[Lord_Mangoat]

I have an Aptera reserver as well. Just getting the 400 mile range, but in noir black, so won't get it for a while. When I do get it, I plan to do a road trip from MA to FL. I'll track charge state and how many times I stop to charge.

[michaelanders]

Good food for thought video, Drew. I am one of those masses you mention who will be content with 250 miles of range. Lighter weight, so a tad more efficient, plus of course, cheaper. That's my language, lol. That is over 3 hours of driving between needing to charge. Enough for my purposes.
Currently I drive an "obsolete" Kia Soul EV, 2017 but 2014 design with that maligned 50kWH charge speed. Worse still, CHAdeMO. But when I can find a compatible charger(thanks Chargepoint!) it charges me from 20% up to 80% (of 90 mile range)in just over 20 minutes, so even this "worst speed on the planet" car is still usable.
I have my reservation in for the base aptera. Fingers crossed, hoping for 2026, but we'll see.

[danchesney]

Everyone is obsessing over peak charging, which is the least desireable charging speed. Slower & longer is easier on the battery than faster & shorter. The ideal charging strategy would be to charge as slow as possible, for the maximum time you want to stop, to power you for your maximum driving stint time.

[EatSleepEmpire]

The fact that you could run out of energy or fuel in any car in the middle of nowhere and be stranded, vs even the short range Aptera you’ll never be stranded if you have a good day of sun.

[greghelton]

I’m more interested in cold weather performance of Aptera’s battery pack.

[mwaldyke]

Here’s a use case I haven’t heard for the 1000-mile Aptera. It would get about 450 miles between 5% and 50%. The charge curve tends to drop off pretty quickly above 50% SOC. If you only charged to 50% on a road trip you would stay in the high-current part of the charge curve for the entire charge and still get about six hours worth of driving range. Starting from home with 100% charge, you could go about 1400 miles with one quick charge stop, assuming you could charge at your destination. You really couldn’t do better with a gasoline stop.

[actionteamministry]

Thanks explaining what I am sure could have been MIT level complicated, Drew, and making it so much easier to understand for us less EV tech savvy wannabes. Another great post. Keep up the great work.

[BryanSeigneur]

Zomg it's the Deliverator's DELIVERATOR! An electric pizza delivery vehicle that can last 6 heavy shifts or 20 light shifts and costs a penny per mile to