[2] The company name was later changed to Aptera Motors, making reference to the Greek word meaning "wingless flight.

"[3] In 2006, the company announced it had a three-wheeled car design, classified as a motorcycle, that would get an estimated 330 miles per US gallon (0.71 L/100 km) at 65 mph (105 km/h).

[2] In 2008, Aptera Motors hired several industry veterans to oversee engineering and production as well as marketing, and raised $24 million from Google and Idealab.

[8][9] Founders Fambro and Anthony were ousted from the company in Autumn 2009, remaining on the board of directors but no longer being employees.

[10] The automotive X-prize competition was held in 2010 and Aptera's car entered but didn't finish the 50-lap trial when it overheated after 30 laps.

[16] In April 2012, the Chinese automaker Zhejiang Jonway Group purchased the intellectual property of Aptera Motors from creditors, and in May, it announced that it would start manufacturing the 2e at its factory in Shanghai and intended to ship chassis to a small assembly plant, initially employing 15-20 people, that it would set up in Santa Rosa, with sales commencing in early 2013.

[19] As of 2019, the Aptera had been redesigned to be a pure battery-powered electric vehicle (BEV) using under 100Wh per mile on the EPA test cycle.

[21] In 2021 the company built three more engineering prototypes, revised the Aptera design to give it more interior room and an improved suspension, and raised over $39 million in funding.

[23] A month later in January 2022, the San Diego Business Journal reported[24] that reservations had grown to over 16,000, their employees had doubled to 60, and they were looking to hire 470 more by the end of the year.

[35] Embedded solar panels were designed to contribute up to an estimated additional 40 mi (64 km) per day from sunlight under optimal conditions.

[39] Aptera announced in June 2022 a detailed plan to scale in-wheel motor production in Slovenia by Elaphe.

Aptera's introductory press release stated its design would achieve 330 mpg, and included computer renderings of the vehicle.

The Mk-0 prototype was redesigned by Jason Hill, who worked on the Smart Fortwo and Porsche Carrera GT and engineered by Nathan Armstrong,[46] with a finished interior and new body styling.

[51] Aptera CTO Steve Fambro stated that the system was simplified to make use of a single camera mounted near the top of the vehicle.

[52] An early Aptera 2h design used a "small, water-cooled EFI gasoline engine with closed loop oxygen feedback and catalytic converter," coupled with a 12 kW generator/starter.

[55] By the time of the original company's liquidation in 2011, it had abandoned development of the Aptera 2e and had begun design of a 5-passenger, 4-wheeled EV sedan with a lightweight composite body and a projected 130-mile range.