The teardrop-shaped Aptera 2e electric three-wheeler has been officially deemed a car in the eyes of the Department of Energy.

President Obama has signed legislation making high-efficiency two- and three-wheeled vehicles eligible for the same loans the department has granted to Tesla Motors, Fisker Automotive and others to spur the development of high-efficiency automobiles. There is no guarantee Aptera will get any money, as the law only allows the company to apply for loans it previously was barred from receiving.

"We are excited," Marques McCammon, the company's chief marketing officer, told Wired.com. "There are a number of companies that benefit from this bill, but for Aptera, an American company building the world's most efficient vehicles in America, it is especially sweet. Congress and the White House just made a positive statement in support of American innovation."

Now that it's in the race for a loan, Aptera is filing another application and says we'll see theAptera 2e electric car on the road next year.

Aptera was among the 75 companies seeking some of the $25 billion the DOE is divvying up under theAdvanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Incentive. The program is designed to provide cheap capital for retooling old factories to produce vehicles with at least 25 percent more fuel efficient than 2005 models. But companies like Aptera andElio Motors didn't qualify for one reason: Their cars have three wheels.

Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-California) launched a campaign in March tochange the rules. He and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) drafted a measure expanding the DOE loan program to include all “fully enclosed vehicles that are capable of carrying two adults and get at least 75 mpg.” It was tacked onto theEnergy and Water Development Appropriations Act that Congressapproved earlier this month.

The law applies only to the rules for DOE funding, not safety regulations. Three-wheelers are still classified as motorcycles by the DOT. Aptera considered a conventional four-wheeler but found the added weight and rolling resistance cut efficiency by 34 percent. Making up for it would have required making the 13 kilowatt-hour battery 50 percent bigger, the company says.

The company sought $75 million when it filed its DOE loan application in December, but McCammon says it will submit a new application under the revised rules. He declined to say how much Aptera will seek.

"As with our prior application, our request will center around the advanced technologies that make Aptera unique and our production facility needs for both the 2e and its bigger brother," he said, referring to the company's goal of offering a follow-up model down the line. The company is keeping mum on that project.

McCammon said the 2e should reach "volume production" in 2010. No word on price, but the company wants to keep it between $25,000 and $40,000.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

See Also:

• We Drive the Aptera, and It's a Real Car
• Feds Lend Tesla $465 Million to Build Model S
• Feds Lend Fisker $528M to Build a Plug-In