According to a report from Reuters, California-based electric vehicle (EV) company Aptera has suspended operations after failing to secure financial backing for commercialization.
The company was betting on a $150 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to bring its new five-passenger electric sedan to the production line. Although companies such as Google, Idealab and NRG Energy had committed funds to the start-up, Aptera could not net the total of $80 million in private investment that the government required as a condition of its loan guarantee.
In an interview with Reuters, Aptera CEO Paul Wilbur said the company was ‘a check away from going into production.’
