Tailosive EV's Aptera video is played for laughs, framed as a heist where the host insists he is leaving with a solar car whether or not anyone stops him. Underneath the bit is a real look at how the three-wheeled Aptera behaves in daily use. The standout is the solar charging. The host reports pulling more than 200 watts from the roof and hood panels on a cloudy day, and later over 300 watts, including while the car is moving. The Aptera is front wheel drive, steered by a yoke, and uses cameras in place of side mirrors. The doors open straight up so they clear people beside the car. It is a deliberately strange shape, and the video spends nearly as much time on the attention it draws as on the driving itself.
The reason to care about the Aptera is the part the comedy almost buries: it tries to add range from sunlight, which nearly every other EV on sale does not do at all. That reframes efficiency as the whole product rather than a spec footnote. It also sets expectations that are easy to miss. Solar output depends on weather, parking, and panel angle, so the 200 to 300 watt readings the host shows are best-case numbers in direct sun, not a fixed daily yield. There is a practical wrinkle the video does not cover, too: in much of the US, a three-wheeled vehicle is often registered as a motorcycle or autocycle, which can change licensing, insurance, and safety rules depending on the state. For a commuter who parks in the sun, the solar math can be real and genuinely useful. For someone who parks in a garage or lives under grey skies, the panels are closer to a bonus than a fuel source, and the car should be judged on the rest of the package.
On the drive itself, the host is mostly won over. He reports the Aptera charging while in motion, holding close to 200 watts on the move and climbing past 300 when parked with the rear hatch open to the sun, which he demonstrates by angling the car toward the light. He praises the storage, saying the hatchback opening and cargo space beat his Model 3, and likes the camera views mounted near the yoke for being fast and easy to read. Being front wheel drive, it pulls rather than pushes, and with three wheels he notes that a driven front axle still covers more than half the contact patches, so traction holds up. He calls the ride firmer and more performance-focused than he expected, yet still nimble and planted through corners. The single wiper, the split rear window, and the low, reclined seating all get called out. The cameras stay on constantly and he finds them quick and responsive, and he says the split rear window that looks awkward online becomes a non-issue in person because your brain fills the gap. His running theme is attention: he says the shape is so unusual that other drivers slow down to film it, which he treats as a feature rather than a nuisance.
Bottom line: The heist framing is a joke, but the appeal underneath is serious for a specific buyer. If you have a sunny commute and you are the kind of person who watches an efficiency readout for fun, the Aptera offers something no mainstream EV does: miles that arrive without a plug. Everyone else should treat the solar as a supplement and judge the car on its space, visibility, and oddball charm. It is not trying to be a normal car, and this video never pretends otherwise. That honesty is refreshing, even wrapped in a bit.
Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.