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Hello -

Here is a follow-up article by Karen Pease that debunks the newsletter I got :

Inside Aptera’s Troubles: Part II : Gas 2.0

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Concerning flammability: not only do vehicles like the 2e not have to pass the same FMVSS standards that cars do, but we were unable to find anyone who works with composites who felt that the difference in flash points between epoxy and vinyl ester would have any practical difference for such an electric three wheeler. Quite to the contrary, vinyl ester is approved for use in everything from internal combustion engine parts to helmets — areas where if the fire danger was significant, you would never expect approval. Polyester and vinyl ester have similar flash points, and polyester has long been the most common composite resin used in vehicle manufacture.

“Fire resistance of straight laminating resin is like any similar plastic. It will burn if you give it reason to - a strong heat/energy source,” said Adriaan Snyman, a composite boat builder. “Bottom line is that metal cars burn every day. Electric cars will too. Good electrical design and testing will reduce this risk hugely over time.”

While one can certainly disagree about the merits of vinyl ester versus epoxy (we found a wide variety of opinions on the topic in the field), our sources from Aptera were consistent on two things. One, even if one argued for using epoxy over vinyl ester — debatable, given the low price point and high production rate target of this vehicle — it certainly didn’t merit throwing away a nearly complete production process rather than making a later model revision. Aptera was a company that sorely needed to start moving products to earn greater publicity and investor confidence. And secondly, Paul was not an engineer; he should not have been making specific engineering decisions, let alone ones so fundamental as which resin to use.
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The 2e newsletter didn’t stop at claims about the resin: they also discussed how the vehicle was put together. They noted that the design of the vehicle as primarily two shell components, one top and one bottom, posed various quality and warranty problems. What they didn’t mention, and what my sources inform me, is that Chris Anthony, former head of Aptera’s composites operations, had already begun this transition before Paul’s team came onboard. The two-part shell was only done for prototyping, not production, as it was easier to produce. All of my sources who read the newsletter and commented on the issue were in agreement that this was Paul’s team taking credit for Chris’s ideas.
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