Aptera (assignment for the benefit of creditors), LLC

[TruthSeeker]

Originally Posted by dfbvt

Thank you Steve.

Your and Tricia's positive integrity is such a refreshing contrast to you know who.

Dave Bowles

Same feelings here. Thanks for your help Steve and Tricia.

[Ardie3301]

Here's my wild theory on the story of deposit money held by Wells Fargo. It may not have any bearing on the actual truth, but here it is nonetheless:


In the beginning, Aptera set up an account at Wells Fargo to hold the $500.00 deposit monies to be applied against a future purchase of an Aptera Typ-1, then renamed to an Aptera 2e.

Over half a dozen prototypes were developed and refined, with some ideas being added and others abandoned. The rear-wheel drive had to go, and became front wheel drive. The solar panel sunroof didn't have enough cost/benefit ratio, and wouldn't power much more than an exhaust fan and the radio, so it had to go. Several dashboards were considered and more than a few tweaks to the body to improve ergonomics without sacrificing the aerodynamic benefit that was one of the primary considerations for efficiency. Deposits continued to roll in, with the latest estimate running around 4,000 depositors.

Time went by, and management passed the baton to the Michigan team we all know and love.

More time went by, and the 2e changed design yet again, bending to the hue and cry of the webboarders for cup holders and roll-down windows. The result was one that was supposedly more cost-effective to manufacture, and probably the change from its sleek teardrop in body shape to a tubby tadpole shape was done to accomodate a larger battery to power the ever-increasing demands for improved range and accessories.


It was, I think, around this time that the biggest wave of depositors finally decided that the car that Aptera said they were going to build back in 2007 was not the same car in play by 2009, and they started asking for their money back. Aptera, since they didn't actually have the money in a desk drawer somewhere, referred the depositors to Wells Fargo, who promptly sent checks. For about 2 weeks. Then the stream of refund requests didn't stop, and for some unknowable reason, Wells Fargo stopped issuing checks and instead started issuing credits against the original credit card charges. This caused even greater outrage and suspicion that the money was no longer there, and the stream of refund requests grew to a small flood. Wells Fargo held firm, and would only issue credit card credits. We have no real idea how many depositors jumped ship.


About this time, Aptera got the word that the Gubmint wan't going to hand out free money to companies developing electric 3-wheelers. Even when they finagled the lawmakers into amending the law to include motorcycles, Aptera still never got to partake of the electric car incentive loot, leaving Aptera with one last desperate strategy - win the Automotive X-Prize.

They pulled out all the stops, begging, cajoling, and wheedling their suppliers to give them the components at a reduced price (or free) in exchange for advertising, promotion, and maybe a piece of the winnings, so they could build one (just one!) current design prototype. They cut it close. The new design 2e was barely finished in time to go to the competition. It was approximately 10 to 14 days out of the shop when practically everybody in the company went off to (can you believe it?) Michigan, to prove its worth by winning the Automotive X-Prize for a good chunk of the 10 million dollar (total purse) prize money.

Sadly, it was not to be. A series of misadventures resulted in several close calls, and their lack of pre-competition testing finally caught up with them when it blew a fuse on the track causing it to be knocked out of the race.

Down, but not completely out, Aptera went on a tour of several cities to drum up interest, and hopefully, more investors despite their failure at the X-Prize track. It was not to be. Nobody wanted a piece of a 3-legged losing horse.

So Aptera gave up on the 3-wheeled 2e, and started focusing on a last-ditch effort to cobble up a 4-wheeled electric car. One that would retain the spirit of the 2e's aerodynamics, but would qualify for free government money, appeal to a broader audience, and attract investors. Did I say free government money?

However, since the 2e was abandoned, Aptera was forced to return the deposits that had been collected, and a half-hearted effort was initiated to send refund checks to everyone that still held out some shred of hope all this time in the form of $500 held by Wells Fargo. The checks (not credit card credits) were mailed out with no fanfare - or explanation.

Only a few days before Aptera announced their own demise did we see hints of work on a 4-wheeled sedan, presumably electric. But it was -far- too little -far- too late, and the cash flow trickled to a stop, forcing them to close their doors. The liquidation firms are honor-bound to contact anyone still with an un-refunded deposit, and they are doing so.



So that's my guess on what happened. It was a fun and exciting time to see the Typ-1 evolve into the 2e (a vehicle that looked like it had a good chance as a niche vehicle), then transform into a 3-wheeler design that seemed to be ... over-designed, as if it were more of a springboard to something bigger, to a laughingstock when the X-Prize competition was yanked out of their grasp because of some blown fuses, to a couple of museum pieces of what might have been.

Unlike most others on this site, I think that the main killer here was ... poor timing. Had the PW simply taken what he had and pushed it out the door in 2008, I think I'd be driving one now. At a price point of ~$25,000.00, the 2e, with whatever faults you may wish to point out (no cup holders, no roll-down windows, no solar panel rooftop), during 2008 or 2009, would've knocked everybody's socks off. It would've beat everybody (except Tesla's $110,000 Roadster) to the market, and captured the hearts and minds of the media, if not a sizeable customer base. With that kind of publicity and lead in the marketplace, Aptera would've been well positioned to get sold to somebody who could build such a car in large quantities, making gobs of money for everyone who got in at the ground floor. The 2nd generation 2e would've been a fantastic starting point to being something that the world still needs -- an electric car, no matter how funky it looked like.

-- Ardie
(Tesla Model S deposit holder)
Maybe lightning won't strike twice

[Grendal]

Good to hear from you, Ardie. Congrats on the, soon to come, Model S. Are you going to get it in 2012? When did you place your reservation, if you don't mind questions.

I'd love to get a Model S myself. But I just can't justify the large expense versus getting more car than I need. I'm really thinking the Blue Star (possibly Signature Edition) in a couple years will be more appropriate for me. Unless something even better comes along...

[Ardie3301]

Grendal,
Tesla has already "sold out" 2012 with their reservations.
Even with their Signature version (first 1000 units), its sold out.

The sedan is more than I need for a commuter, but at $5.00 for 300 miles, it still makes sense.
I expect mine in Spring of 2013.

-- Ardie

[dmtaub]

The funds were held in a Wells Fargo Escrow account. I can tell you that from first hand knowledge. It is know as a DACA account in the industry or a Controlled Disbursement account. Aptera and Idealab had absolutely no control of those funds as they were administered by a 4th party (Wells does not act as TPA (Third Party Administrator) on these types of accounts.

The issue at this point is the bankruptcy. These funds are part of the entire proceeding and like all bankruptcies, will have to go through the court system before dispersed. This is why some, if not all, of the deposit holders who did not ask or get their money back before the bankruptcy, had to fill out the creditor form. You are considered a creditor and have to line up for your money.

Unlike most creditors, you have protected funds and should get back your entire deposit unlike many times where you only get pennies on the dollar. It would be interesting to see what the assets vs liabilities were are the time of bankruptcy and to see how out of whack PW put the company.

Steve, thank you so much for your vision and I hope that one day we actually see the Aptera or something very close to it out on the streets. Being literally down the road from the office (I'm in Oceanside), I was extremely hopeful to be one of the first to drive that bad boy.

Chris (Epic), I really hope you were able to make bid on the core assets. I would love to see the original plans come to fruition.

I hope this clears up what is going to take so long for a lot of people.

[CissyB]

Wow, I loved reading your theory, Ardie. At one time, I was so excited about owning an Aptera which I thought would be out by 2008. Friends would ask "when?" all the time. I optimistically said "any time now!".

Then, I got a phone call from Aptera asking if I wanted a refund. By this time, I had become disillioned with the whole thing. I said YES, definately. I waited. Finally, I contacted them by email. They said I was slated for refund end of October.....nada. So, here I am.

I also got one of the class-action postcards. That brought hope. We shall see!

[Vaaaase]

Well, I'm confused. I've moved since I made the reservation so I'm a few steps behind on the refund cancellation shenanigans. I (finally) got the Notice of Assignment paperwork but haven't seen any "class action postcard" that CissyB mentioned.

So, how are we meant to fill this stuff out? I'd like to cling to the idea that this is still money that's maintained separately from Aptera's per se assets, so I'm balking at the thought of just checking the "unsecured" box and getting back pennies on the dollar. At the same time, it doesn't seem to fit into any of the other classes on the form either.

Of course this begs the question -- does it even matter? Am I just going to get back $10 of my $500 in 2014 regardless of what action I take?

I've looked around in other posts and there's a lot of other interesting stuff about auctions, etc, but I can't find any guidance for the depositors left in the cold, other than a few half-formed lists of people waiting to hear back from the now defunct cancelres address. Can anyone in the know provide some good guidance...?

(Also, it was interesting to see that my original post expressing concern about this exact issue was at some point stickied. )