Aptera's 2e shells get junked by employees, video shows

Update: Aptera denies that these videos are in response to the closing of the brand, as previously reported, and states that they were filmed in May destroying prototypes that were bound for the crusher anyway.

Automotive startup Aptera Motors closed its doors on Dec. 2 after it ran out of money.

Now, fast-forward to this week, when four videos popped up on the Web that appear to show employees of the now-defunct company destroying Aptera 2e shells with forklifts--while stating that the videos should not reach the Internet.

The employees joke about how much they could get for the shells and how much the footage of them smashing shells are worth.

A person claiming to have inside knowledge of Aptera said on the company's forum that he saw no reason for the employees to act that way, and that it was just a way to prevent the founders from ever seeing their cars again.

At least one of the shells is smashed against a wall, leading the employees to joke about crash testing.

On the company forum, a poster named “Steve”--who could be cofounder Steve Fambro--says the company did crash-test the cars at 35 mph and they stood up well.

“Doors opened fine, passenger compartment fine, batteries and seats remained attached to their load points.”

We didn't expect to see Aptera coming back any time soon, but now the chances of that are even slimmer.

By Jake Lingeman