You're not imagining things if you've recently spotted a strange solar panel formation in California.
It was probably the Stella – a family-sized solar car – which completed its maiden voyage across the US on September 24. It is believed to be the first solar car that can comfortably carry four people – more than any other solar car, according to Tom Selten, director of the Dutch team that designed the car.
The car is designed for traditional roads and can operate on a single electric charge for up to 500 miles. Its first road trip was in Australia, where solar cars were first showcased at the World Solar Challenge. The Stella won the “Cruiser Class” competition for practical cars, among other things, last year.
It could be tight for the average person to fit inside, as the car is only about 4 feet tall, as Auto World News pointed out.
But Stella is another look at how solar power could change the way we travel. Using solar energy to power cars is already on the minds of automakers. Ford, for example, has a car in the works that can travel about 21 miles on sunlight alone.
The car completed a road trip last week on Highway 1 from Los Angeles to San Francisco (about 385 miles), a route with the most traffic and hilly terrain. The Stella arrived in Detroit in early September. Now it's heading back to the Netherlands.
