Comments by "N. Bruce Nelson" (@n.brucenelson5920) on "Munro Live" channel.

  1.  @phamnuwen9442  Not a fair measure because of the cost of decommissioning nuclear.
    2
  2. ​ @phamnuwen9442  Your points 3, 4, 7, and 8 are sadly false. Which is why the economics of 4 are causing it to be phased out.
    2
  3.  @phamnuwen9442  Yes, I think the general elimination of these subsidies, except possiblyfor some marginalized groups that were affected from localized pollution is a good idea.
    2
  4. Cammi, the video is just the first prototype. They are building two more development vehicles now which will go through a whole series of validation tests. These will result in changes and improvements to the production models, which will continue to be improved even after production starts.
    2
  5. You are correct that there is less resistance loss if you can use 240v. Aptera will charge at a rate of 30 miles per hour if you have one.
    2
  6. Congratulations! If you just placed your preorder, it is likely that the delivery won't be until 3rd quarter 2022 unless they ramp up production faster than I expect. However, you will get a more mature car with possibly better features than will be ready for the first ones.
    2
  7. The main issue with AC at the moment is the lack of transportation qualified reversing valves. That will come, probably as a phase in upgrade later in production, and could potentially be retrofited.
    2
  8.  @wallykramer7566  have you ever driven in snow? Skinny tires help - especially if they are snow tires. With AWD it should be awesome because of the traction control.
    2
  9.  @alaricgoldkuhl155  Tesla was converting the Lotus Elise to an electric sports car, but there were already several electrics on the market when the Tesla design started, including the Commuter Car Company Tango - which was a hot rod, and the Ford Th!nk which sold around 1,000 copies. Tesla did not get started in a vacuum.
    2
  10. Probably. I bet we see them and everyone else move in that direction.
    2
  11. I plan to drive my 2WD Aptera year round in Iowa. My present wheels are a Gen 1 Honda Insight, which does OK. With the ABS/traction controls, I think Aptera will be better. Edit - I have switched my order to AWD.
    2
  12. The top surface of all full solar vehicles will be black, due to the solar cell color. For the bottom skin of the car, used for the A/C condenser, black is the most efficient color, but it won't make a big difference because of the large surface area.
    2
  13.  @paulmuresan8889  The car in the video does not have full solar. Look up "black body radiation" to get an understanding of color and heat. The better a surface is at absorbing heat, the better it is at radiating it, too, in general. There are conductive and convective effects besides the radiant ones, and all of these should be taken into account to judge the overall performance.
    2
  14.  @paulmuresan8889  There is a zoom call on Thursday, where there will be a chance to ask one of the designers questions directly.
    2
  15.  @paulmuresan8889  I don't know how good the Aptera will be for the use case of many Europeans, especially due to the width of the vehicle, but I am sure there will be some. I would love to try one out on the Autobahn if I were still a European environmental sales and tech support manager visiting client sites. I speak German, and my sister lives in England at the moment, so I would love to spend more time there.
    2
  16. Full solar on this car is 700 peak watts at the beginning and the rear hatchback is completely covered.
    2
  17.  @zodiacfml  Yes, and tire rolling resistance is a big one, too. I presently drive a Gen 1 Honda Insight which has met our needs very economically. Aptera will let us sleep in it for camping and have a far lower cost to actually use. Aptera gives back a great deal. It also has Gen 1 Tesla Roadster acceleration at 1/3 the purchase price, without breaking transmissions
    2
  18. Registeed as a motorcycle, but will be tested to Automotive crash standards includes front and side airbags and other safety features. I expect it to rate well.
    2
  19. Aptera actually holds a bumper patent, but the answer is no. They do have engineered crumple zones.
    2
  20. It is about 8" wider than your Titan, not counting your mirrors,, so that might be quite a feat.
    2
  21. They already have preorders from the UK and are committed to a right hand drive model.
    2
  22. The shapes were inspired by wind tunnel testing, which is likely to be true of both vehicles.
    2
  23. This is not like any other 3 wheel car and every one of these issues has been more than addressed with this design.
    2
  24. Not so much, yet, but it will be fully tested at the Elaphe cold weather test track next season.
    2
  25. Probably pretty good for the AWD model with snow tires. The ABS/traction control can sense and adjust torque every 2.5 inches of tread travel - far more quickly than any other car in the road. There will be video of the performance from the Elaphe winter test track later this season
    2
  26. This is unknown at present. The designers know it is a desirable goal, but it may conflict with the desire to make the battery packs a structural part of the car. We should know more about this before long.
    2
  27. It is in the proposal but we won't know for sure until the bill is signed.
    2
  28. Yes, a tiny bit of due diligence showed that they were a scam from the beginning. The same kind of work shows that Aptera has little in common with them except for a 3 wheel design.
    2
  29. It serves all of the functionality of a car. It is only a motorcycle by legal classification. If it walks like a duck....
    2
  30. Another Chris Anthony company has produced thousands of vehicles this way. Not just carbon fiber, but also E-glass, hemp, and Kevlar.
    2
  31. No. There will be 7 standard colors with custom available. The second alpha vehicle is white and the third will be silver.
    2
  32. If you add the camping kit, there will be a mattress for the back and enough room to sleep two people in climate controlled comfort. I have ordered this option.
    2
  33. It is designed to excel on standard automotive crash tests. We will have the ratings later in the year.
    2
  34. It is stable in 110 mph cross winds.
    2
  35. The first delta (production models) will likely appear in December of this year, with a slow ramp up of production to around 10,000 units per year. Since there are more than 25,000 preorders already in, it will take a while to fill them if you haven't already placed an order.
    2
  36. There are pre-orders from Korea, and once the rollout happens, Korea is on their radar.
    2
  37. I agree. I ordered White for the same reason. My first Gen 1 Honda Insight was hit from behind at 60 by a large car that "didn't see me". I wasn't injured and think the Aptera, which weighs about the same, will do even better. The Honda got 4s in the crash tests.
    2
  38. That wont happen, because the motors are in the wheels. The heat would make it as likely as your muffler getting snowed shut. And in the unlikely event you needed to, the wheel pants snap off in less than a minute. Tesla, Mercedes, and other companies use the same international parts suppliers. Aptera will be registered as a motorcycle or autocycle and will thus not be subject to the mirror rules. It will still be tested to full automotive safety standards.
    2
  39. Jim, where are you? They have a new 80,000 sq ft factory in Carlsbad, a new beta factory and test center producing parts, and even video of new tooling producing half a fender pant. Both preorders and company valuation are headed up.
    2
  40.  @BlondieSuperdog  If you think reading a wiki article is doing due diligence, you are in trouble as an investor. While the numbers in the Wiki were true once, Aptera is growing fast and they are now way past that. And I guess Tesla is in even bigger trouble because all mention of a delivery date for the much delayed Cybertruck has been scrubbed from their website. Aptera is operating in the same business climate that Tesla is and shares the same supply chain for some common parts. It is quite clear that you haven't looked up the worth of Aptera shares which are already far beyond penny stock territory. Even at a rapidly increasing valuation, the last offering raised 20 million in a week. This may be a reg A record and shows the market does not agree with you. One measure is to compare where Aptera is at after restarting to the original Tesla in the same time frame. Aptera is moving much faster than most automotive companies, who typically take 5 years to design and deliver a new, less than innovative car model. The Elephant in the room is that we collectively need companies such as Aptera to be successful if we are to start getting a handle on our climate mess. I have spent much of my career in this and I have grandchildren I am not giving up on.
    2
  41.  @BlondieSuperdog  It is now almost a year after our last discussion here. Aptera has recently released a 6 month SEC update. Although they have greatly increased their expenses they still have about the same 19 million cash on hand. This also doesn't include a 21 million dollar grand that has been awarded by the State of California. Aptera has built a 130,000 square foot solar panel factory that is already in low volume production and they are building out the high capacity line. They also have a separate battery assembly plant in early production. The 80,000 square foot final assembly building is awaiting the Red Viking carts any day now and workers are already training on virtual models of the work stations. Gamma models have been completed and publicly shown, and the delta production intent vehicle is still on track to be finished by the end of the year. The first deltas will be voluntarily crash tested to FMVSS Part 200 standards by a third party, there will be winter weather tests at the Elaphe winter weather test track, and the delivery of the first Paradigm models will start next year. Amazing progress, especially at a time when many dealer showrooms are empty and the Tesla Cybertruck, which started design around the same time is delayed yet again.
    2
  42. Elon has not been much faster in getting vehicles out. And he started shipping defective roadsters.
    2
  43. Right hand drive is planned.
    2
  44. I don't know if there is a break down for 2 seat car sales in the US, but the 13,000 preorders, and counting shows that the demand is enough for the company to be profitable. There is also no shortage of investors with over 10,000 so far with no advertising campaign for the last investment round which was shut down in a week. The demand is there.
    2
  45. No. The differences will not be significant. Part of this is because most of the heat transfer will be through convection rather than radiation. I understand these things because I spent many years in thermal design. I designed and helped built the samples freezer that flies in the ISS, for instance.
    2
  46. Why? It would increase the cost and lower the efficiency (increased rolling resistance) for little advantage. Future higher load 4 wheel vehicles for different applications are planned.
    2
  47.  @waynefergusson9987  I have worked in manufacturing quality control for much of my life. An increase in weight and parts count increases cost. The extra wheel also adds more rolling resistance - a considerable contribution to in-efficiency. Every engineering choice involves tradeoffs. Aptera wants to eventually produce vehicles for more passengers and for cargo, for which a four wheel design increases cargo capacity.
    2
  48.  @Bill-Rink  The three wheeled Aptera will be crash tested to the same FMVSS Part 200 crash test standards as cars are - not because they have to by law, but because it is designed to be safe. You are incorrect on your assumption.
    2
  49. He has an investment in Aptera Motors now and will be slow to cover companies he is invested in.
    2
  50. This vehicle will be far less affected by wind, and have both a lower center of gravity and much better traction control. We will have results next season from the Elaphe cold weather test track.
    2