CARLSBAD, CA—Aptera Motors Corp. recently moved into its new assembly plant here. The 77,147-square-foot facility will be the first of several microfactories that the company plans to build around the world to produce its three-wheeled solar vehicle.

“We’ll start by producing our first few hundred vehicles, the Paradigm Edition,” says Pablo Ucar, vice president of production and procurement at Aptera Motors. “As our supply chain becomes more established, we’ll ramp to 250 per month, and eventually reach our target of producing 40 vehicles per day.”

“Over the coming months, we will be completing our beta vehicles, validating our production parts, and moving into testing and certification,” adds Chris Anthony, CEO of Aptera Motors. “We have over 13,000 customers on our reservation list and our engineering team is working around the clock with a goal to begin delivering vehicles in 2022.”

The vehicle’s carbon-fiber composite body will be covered in 3 square meters of solar cells. According to Anthony, at least 90 percent of the power produced by the solar panels will go toward propelling the vehicle. Boasting 100 watt hours per mile, he claims it will be “the most efficient vehicle on the planet.”

“Integrated solar can be configured to provide up to 45 miles of range per day,” explains Anthony. “[This will be the] first vehicle capable of meeting most daily driving needs using solar power alone.”