9 Comments

I have emailed Nimbus One’s customer support three times and never received a response. That doesn’t sit well with me as a potential customer. It’s too bad, I really thought this was a viable second car solution. Instead, it feels like another concept vehicle that didn’t make it to an assembly line.

Expand full comment

Ah, that's too bad. I haven't reached out to them myself but was hoping they were at least monitoring the emails even if they weren't making progress on the vehicle. You're totally right, this concept was the perfect second car for plenty of people. It's a shame that it doesn't look like it's going to see the light of day. Might be worthy of another write-up soon. I think I'm ready to request my deposit back as well. I wonder how many people (if any?) have gotten it back.

Expand full comment

For me, what set Nimbus One apart from the others was the removable battery that can be charged from a standard plug. If I was an owner and I knew that the company was folding… I would sell that part of the business to another EV company… because to me, that’s where the value lies. You eliminate range anxiety with the ability to charge at home or work. Anyway, best of luck getting your deposit back, and I am interested in reading your follow up article.

Expand full comment

Yeah, that's a good point. I wonder how far along they made it with that battery swapping tech. I imagine they had that pretty dialed in and then hit roadblocks when they were looking for manufacturing facilities that could produce them at a reasonable cost/scale. I'm hoping they at least have some sort of email update or outreach to those of us who placed a deposit by the end of the year. Even if they just say the project is dead, that would be something. I'll continue to hold out a small bit of hope but it certainly doesn't look good. Thanks for reading!

Expand full comment

I am so tired of these deposits with complete B.S. promises of delivery that just never happen. I have signed up for a few of these and always nothing come to fruition. It is so disappointing. I don't understand why they don't spend initial money on producing a workable model, then just asking for production on demand? I am sure people would pay it. I too looked into the Aptera and another electric motorcycle not including this Nimbus and yet still ... nothing! It has been years now. I mean why bother believing! 🤕

Expand full comment

Hey Wes, thanks for reading!

Yeah, I kinda thought the new vehicle deposit game was fun for a while but it can get old. I'd be curious to see some real data on the percentage of these vehicles that actually make it to market. It has to be fairly low at this point. It's a shame that innovative companies can't find profitability by creating a small run of initial products for early adopters like us. It just seems like they need to hit a critical mass of orders that is always just out of reach.

On the bright side, at least companies are still coming up with ideas that captivate our imaginations right? They may not actually be available for us to use anytime soon, but we can still enjoy the discussions while we cross our fingers and hope right? haha

Expand full comment

Have you checked Aptera -3 Wheeled Autocycle EV with Solar charging?

Two seater with 3 wheels (front wheels or All wheel drive) top speed at 110 mph, battery range choices from 250, 400, 600 up to 1000 miles. solar charging (depends on locations) u to 40 miles pre day (on sunny days)

I had placed my deposit on Nimbus One and Aptera about the Same time- But canceled Nimbus order after I don't hear much news on their Products.

I'm still holding the deposited on Aptera - As they have continuous news on their progress- Hopefully their production run is out by 2025

I had a friend which I told him about the "car"- He placed the deposit after me; but ended up going all the way in their Launch Edition program (adding $10K investment funding to his deposit) to get the first 2000 Launch Editon vehicle- Now he's way ahead of me on the waiting list- and I'm hopefully to ride in his vehicle by early next year.

I don't mind the wait- As I prefer my vehicle to be trouble free- as they fixed all the first Gen Bugs- Similar to the new Tesla Cybertruck (I also have a "late" deposit of that vehicle when we purchased our Model 3 LR)- Really loving the EV; we still have ICE vehicles we have owned for 10 and 14 years.

Expand full comment

Hey Dennis, thanks for reading!

Yes, I'm very interested in Aptera. I've been following them for a while and excited to see their product come to market. I haven't put a deposit down though because I just can't get behind the form factor as being super practical for my use case. Of course, the Nimbus may not be all that practical either, haha.

The Aptera is basically a non-starter if you're trying to transport kids if I recall correctly. Maybe they'd figure out a way to include child seat compatibility in the future, but I don't think it was recommended at launch. Nimbus theoretically could have a child seat in the backseat while Dad drove in the front. But who knows if that was ever a real possibility. The solar charging on the Aptera is definitely nice though. It would probably cover a bulk of my mileage and we get plenty of direct sun at my location.

The Aptera also doesn't seem narrow enough to navigate lane splitting/filtering which would make it very valuable in California rush hour traffic. That is something that the Nimbus seemed to be capable of and it gave it a lot more practicality for me personally. I could be wrong though. But if I can't bring my kids and I can't weave through traffic, the Aptera is a tough sell over other small efficient EVs or even a high-end e-bike setup.

I'll be curious to hear more about your Aptera experience as they get closer to launch. It is kinda fun to wait for a car to be released though right? Seems like a much more engaging experience than just going to a dealer and buying what they have in-stock. What an antiquated notion! haha

Expand full comment