Interesting stats on EVs and energy use in the US, developments in wind and tidal power, a plastic recycling microfactory, and an "unprecedented collapse" in EU fossil fuel generation.
A solar-powered EV that can travel 1,000 miles on a single charge
The solar panels built into the vehicle can provide an extra 40 miles (64 km) a day, leading the company to claim some users may not ever have to plug it in.
Check out this futuristic solar-powered vehicle from Aptera that can supposedly cover 1,000 miles (1,600 km) on a single charge. The solar panels built into the vehicle can provide 40 miles (64 km) of travel just from the sun alone, leading the company to claim that in the right environment, users may not ever have to plug it in.
(Side-eyeing that claim over here in rainforest land right now... but a thousand miles on one charge does sound pretty awesome.)
The three-wheeled, two-seater vehicle can achieve 60 miles per hour (96 km/h) in four seconds and reach top speeds of 101 miles per hour (162 km/h). I don't know how practical this vehicle is for all environments but I do like how the solar panels are integrated into its design and love that it can soak up so much power directly from the sun. Seems super efficient. And it has a surprising amount of trunk space!
Plus, the fact that it's a three-wheeler – and that the wheels are so much smaller than those on typical cars, means a smaller environmental footprint in terms of the amount of microplastics released from the tires.
According to the video, the company has more than 26,000 pre-orders for the vehicle, the base model of which costs US$25,900. (And they're working to get a tax credit for $7,500 to bring it down to US$18,400.) The company hopes to start delivering vehicles to customers by the end of the year. Should be interesting to see what the new owners think of their rides and if the company is successful.
