Aptera Motors co-founder Steve Fambro discusses the aerodynamic research and original vehicle concept behind founding the ultra-efficient vehicle startup with Chris Anthony.
Assertion Open · timeframe Aug 2026
Fambro: Aptera yields 11,000 miles of free solar charge yearly in SoCal
“You plug it in like normal if you want, but most people won't ever have to because here in Southern California, you'll probably get about 11,000 miles a year of free charge, so.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Fambro: 1,000-mile range EVs are imminent, led by Aptera's aerodynamic design
“I definitely think so. I think Aptera is going to show the way because of the way technology is right now, there's no other way it's achievable without this extreme obsession with efficiency. There's no other platform out there that can do it. So the vehicles,…”
Opinion
Fambro: US side mirror mandates are vestigial "buggy whip" regulations
“It's vestigial. It's like saying, you know, you must have a clip for your whip on your buggy. You know, you can't have your whip laying around in the buggy. Like, there's no whip, there's no buggy. You know, we don't need that. But it is a vestigial requiremen…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fambro: Biomimicking bottom-dwelling fish radically reduces Aptera's drag coefficient
“Those creatures also camber their back like Aptera is cambered. And that radically reduces the drag coefficient.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fambro: Adding solar panels to large, traditional EVs barely improves driving range
“And if you try to do this, you know, to any large electric vehicle, it's barely going to budge, you know, the needle.”
Assertion Open · timeframe Aug 2026
Fambro: Aptera yields 10 to 12 miles of daily solar charge overcast
“It'll, it'll still charge. It might only charge, you know, 10 miles worth or 12 miles worth or something like that if it's overcast or in a northern latitude, you know.”