---
title: "Startup Says Solar-Powered Electric Car Never Needs to Charge"
description: "Aptera Motors says its upcoming electric car may never need to be plugged in thanks to solar panels that give it 45 miles of extra range every day."
date: "2020-12-07"
modified: "2020-12-07"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/startup-solar-powered-electric-car-never-needs-charge"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Energy"
  - "Renewable Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Solar Power"
tags:
  - "aptera"
  - "electric car"
  - "energy"
  - "transportation"
---

# Startup Says Solar-Powered Electric Car Never Needs to Charge

![Aptera Motors says its upcoming electric car may never need to be plugged in thanks to solar panels that give it 45 miles of extra range every day.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/startup-solar-powered-electric-car-never-needs-charge.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Aptera Motors\</em\>*

## Perpetual Motion

The electric car company Aptera Motors is back from the dead — and it claims to have built a vehicle which, in theory, never need to be charged up, thanks to banks of solar panels on its roof and hood.

Of course, there are a lot of caveats and footnotes on the claim, [as *The Verge* reports](<https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/6/22157109/aptera-ev-solar-charging-vehicle>), and we'll get into those. But assuming that the solar panels work moderately well, the Aptera could present something on the road to a solution to the longstanding issues of electric vehicle battery range, one of the [main hurdles](<https://futurism.com/graphene-batteries-gamechanger>) blocking a widespread transition to electric cars.

## Some Clarification

Aptera isn't claiming to have built a perpetual motion device, or that the three-wheeled vehicle's battery can never run out of juice.

Rather, the company [says in a press release](<https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aptera-reveals-first-never-charge-solar-vehicle-301186654.html>) that the vehicle has an extraordinary 1,000-mile range per charge, factoring in its solar panels adding 45 miles' worth of juice on sunny days. Banking on the assumption that a typical driver will travel less than that, the Aptera could feasibly last for a long time without needing to stop at a real charging station.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbLQ6Z0u_qo

## Round Two

As a company, Aptera has had trouble getting its unusual design onto the street. After its cars were first [certified by the Department of Energy](<https://www.engadget.com/2009-10-30-aptera-2e-three-wheeler-deemed-a-car-by-the-doe-eligible-for-fu.html>) back in 2009, the company closed its doors in 2011 after being unable to secure a loan, according to *The Verge*.

Now it's trying again and accepting [pre-orders](<https://www.aptera.us/>) for its Paradigm and Paradigm Plus models, which *The Verge* notes could cost a painful $46,000.

**READ MORE:** [Aptera is back with a new EV it says doesn’t need charging](<https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/6/22157109/aptera-ev-solar-charging-vehicle>) \[*The Verge*\]

**More on electric vehicles:** *[Report: Electric Vehicles Cost Half as Much to Maintain](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/electric-vehicles-cost-half-maintain>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)