Despite securing a $150 million federal loan from the Department of Energy, electric vehicle startup firm Aptera has announced that it has been forced to close its operations.
The company said in a prepared statement that it had “never been closer to realizing our vision.”
Limited resources had become an unfortunate norm at Aptera, which nearly closed shop more than once. Production of its radical 2e EV technology showcase vehicle (pictured) had been planned for late this year, but funding setbacks pushed it back indefinitely.
Aptera received a conditional commitment letter from the Department of Energy for an Advance Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan worth $150 million, which it says would have given it the ability to create a more conventional sub-$30,000 midsize sedan EV capable of a 190 mpg equivalent. Aptera was planning to build the vehicle at a mothballed General Motors plant in Moraine, Ohio.
The company says that its efforts toward making a composite manufacturing system designed to drastically reduce vehicle weight will remain its lasting legacy.
