How Joby And Delta Are Making Flying Taxis A Reality

Advances in battery and electric propulsion technology have enabled entirely new types of aircraft to take to the skies. Startups Joby, Archer, Vertical, Lilium and more are developing eVTOLs, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, with the vision of making flying taxis a reality. CNBC got an inside look at Joby Aviation, one of the eVTOL players that has grand ambitions of not only building the aircraft, but operating an Uber-like air taxi business.
Produced by: Andrew Evers
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Graphics by: Alex Wood
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
2:34 Joby Aviation
6:19 The aircraft
9:17 Business of air taxis
12:16 Challenges
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How Joby And Delta Are Making Flying Taxis A Reality

[@LoiteringReaper]

This flight for rural communities would be important for medical emergencies if they allow it. Or redirect their customer base to hospitals.

[@AndriasTravels]

This would create a lot more medical emergencies. And the available payload weight for lifesaving equipment and paramedics would be very limited. I'd rather take my chances with a fully equipped conventional ambulance.

[@maskedmage77]

This is just a helicopter but with extra steps.

[@andrewdoesyt7787]

@@maskedmage77 no, it’s supposed to be several times safer and quiet enough to just hop in and fly around in the city. You could never do that with a chopper.

[@maskedmage77]

@@andrewdoesyt7787 I agree you could never do that in a chopper but you could also never do that in this vehicle. Since you are powering more blades you would need more energy thus making it less efficient because to lift the same amount of mass you don’t have any scaling benefits from a larger motor. Not to mention you also having move moving parts making it harder to maintain and more expensive. Plus who is going to drive these? You would need a specially trained pilot for each one. Spending more on actually proven useful ways to get around like trains / bike infrastructure / trams would benefit a city infinitely more instead of just the mega wealthy.

[@andrewdoesyt7787]

@@maskedmage77 well, this is really supposed to be for the top wealthy people who need to get from point A to point B the quickest as possible. And while your comment about maintenance makes sense, I think that turbine driven helicopters need possibly more maintenance them electric motors, but I’m not sure about it. All this is a safer, quieter, more convenient, and more pleasant chopper.

[@JJs_playground]

Wow, That noise reduction by Joby is very impressive. Not sure if this will ever be a thing, but it's exciting to watch this industry.

[@1lovelucas]

They test fly this thing by me almost weekly, theyre close

[@heinousanus9352]

It will be.

[@1abi07]

Considering Toyota is in the game I am gonna bet it will be a reality. Delta has huge power in aviation industry so this is not just any startup. This one matters….

[@IonorRea]

Noise comparison does not look so great once you realize that they intentionally compared their contraption with competition capable of carrying 4 or more people at the same time, so unless you compare something with the same carrying capacity (disregarding the fact that showed opposition had far longer range that is not important for intercity travel), it's misleading of customers and investors at best... Then you have unknown factors like how these VTOLs will deal with lightning and bird strikes among other things, do they have a ballistic parachute to save them if they lose power (lightning strike)??? Planes with wings will still glide if losing engine power and some helicopters can auto-hover continue descending slow enough to survive just by generating rotor blade rotation by the airflow once descending rapidly. The idea that small electric-powered VTOLs will have the safety record of a large jetliner that can at least glide upon losing engines and land or river as happened to Airbus on the Hudson river operated by professionals that can deal with unexpected situations which were not pre-programmed in advance is rather silly, the chance that VTOLs will ever compete on safety (killed passengers per 1 billion transported) is next to nil for most of proposed e-VTOL designs...

[@heinousanus9352]

@@IonorRea You're conceptualizing probs that don't exist & speculating about nonsense. There's significantly more reliability & redundancy in the system. They don't need to have the same safety nets when they don't have the same weaknesses. There will be crashes, there will be deaths & there will be lessons learned but fundamentally the principles of these systems are fine & better than the status quo. Luddites are bad things.

[@grasuh]

12:32 A conventional aircraft takes 5-10 years for type certification. A novel new aircraft like Joby could take much longer...not to mention the sheer risk to the pilots, other people, and properties. It will have to prove it is safe under all planned operating conditions including bad weather and any failures including motor/battery. It is not unusual for a test aircraft to crash and pilots lost. Aerospace development history is chock full of mishaps. My hats off to Joby.

[@xlynx9]

5 years might be ok. Difficult to keep a start-up alive waiting double digit years for regulatory approval. Just takes one recession and venture capital dries up.

[@greg.peepeeface]

Very cool comment

[@nunyabidness3075]

Not to mention what happened to the Beech Starship where the FAA made them add so much weight in the composite, “just to be sure”, the plane entered service as essentially the biggest two place plane in the industry. Meanwhile, composite homebuilts from the same period have suffered none of the feared degradation. Investing in Joby is like buying lottery tickets for a good cause. The chance of a payoff in cash is minuscule, but the societal benefits and day dreams justify the expense.

[@greg.peepeeface]

@@nunyabidness3075 the same could have been said about Tesla

[@nunyabidness3075]

@@greg.peepeeface I can see your point, but it’s not nearly the same. If you want to build an electric car, and test it off road, you just need access to private land. If you want to put it on public streets, there are 50 states with different sets of rules, but mostly it’s very easy. I know a fellow that got a license to manufacture cars in Tennessee back in the eighties in around a year, as well. You can likely pierce the bureaucracy rather quickly with cars. If you once put a person in something that leaves the ground without FAA approval, you will likely never manufacture a plane in the US, ever. To put up a manned test aircraft, or one heavy enough to lift a person, for commercial purposes will take a serious amount of process and inspections that take months. Then, you are looking at years of testing followed by more years of certification and manufacturing oversight. Finally, there are currently no rules for electric or unmanned passenger aircraft. The courts told the FAA last year they had to change a rule, and IIRC, the FAA has announced it has started a two year process to do so. The rule was in no way involving anything other than process. Our government is broken, and we, the voters, are fiddling while Rome burns.

[@SoCalFreelance]

The Joby aircraft looks really nice from an industrial design perspective. I got the same feeling back in the day from Burt Rutan's beautiful all-composite designs.

[@superbmediacontentcreator]

It's not about the aircraft it is about building the business and structure...

[@jojothetasmaniansassmonkey8866]

This vision for the future seems like an air traffic controller's worst nightmare to me

[@aszeyoung]

There will be Air traffic controller on every buildings

[@RJDA.Dakota]

And that’s another thing-then you have “flyways” like on the Jetsons. Until you fall out of the sky. You better have one Helluva lot of power.

[@tyapka]

Don't worry, those will be replaced by computers.

[@RJDA.Dakota]

@@tyapka great! What happens when that computer goes down or hit by an EMP? And don’t say “that doesn’t happen very often”. The second you say that it will happen. Murphy’s law.

[@tyapka]

@@RJDA.Dakota Computers are not perfect, they fail sometimes. But far far far more rarely than humans. Regarding the 2nd part of your comment, you need to watch less sci-fi stuff lol.

[@1locust1]

Waiting to see which television or movie production will be the first to use an electric aircraft in a scene instead of a light plane or helicopter.

[@xlynx9]

If this could replace existing helicopters in the city, that would be a big win for noise pollution.

[@RJDA.Dakota]

Does not make it any less dangerous.

[@QuantumIdeas]

@@RJDA.Dakota High propeller redundancy is built in the design of this Joby aircraft, I believe. I suppose, this aircraft can even fly with only 2 functioning propellers. That is safety by 3x factor. For current helicopters, once the propeller goes down, so is the load. 😐.

[@usnchief1339]

what noise? Help sounds in the city are cool! The bad noises are coming from the cars, buses and trains. Plus they are so few and far in-between to produce a constant noise.

[@tomasinacovell4293]

You've never heard these scaled up quadcopter deals scaled up yet either have you?

[@xlynx9]

@@usnchief1339 during the night they can be very loud. Probably each flight wakes up tens of thousands of people. This occurs several times throughout the night.

[@ChickensAndGardening]

Can't wait until I can pilot one of these as a side gig!

[@Adrian-lc6jq]

there won't be a pilot maybe someone in an office with controls when the robot is lost

[@ChickensAndGardening]

@@Adrian-lc6jq Hm, they said in the video there's room for one pilot and 4 passengers. Does the pilot just sit there and surf the web?

[@xlynx9]

This particular aircraft is not autonomous.

[@PeterParker-wj3cr]

@@Adrian-lc6jq They're will be a pilot. Where are you getting your information from?

[@everythingisfine9988]

This technology can be easily done autonomously because drones are done autonomously. And this is nothing more than a giant drone. And with such a limited number of seats, that's a loss for these companies

[@TaskSwitcherify]

Battery-powered flying taxis are scary. Range anxiety, and if the air strip isn't ready or you aren't approved to land yet, do you have a flight reserve for another 30+ minutes like on a plane/helicopter?

[@Dragoon01]

A jumbo jet needs a runway for emergency landings, a helicopter does not.

[@TaskSwitcherify]

@@Dragoon01 I'm talking about small planes similar to these taxis. If your electric car battery dies, you're stuck. If this happens on an aircraft, you become "unstuck" at 9.8m/s^2

[@Dragoon01]

@@TaskSwitcherify helicopters auto rotate, an EVTOL with 6 props doesn't have a single point of failure like a conventional helicopter, all props are individually powered. Your factor of safety is much higher than in a helicopter. If your afraid of being in a flying vehicle in general then that's part of aviation but I'm more comfortable in the air with strict regulation and pilot training than being in a car on the road.

[@TaskSwitcherify]

@@Dragoon01 Good points. My only concern is the BATTERY and very limited range & flight time. I love to fly.

[@Birdylockso]

I'm sure your concerns will be easily addressed before it could start to fly. I am seeing pre-determined number of flights and routes, and such point to point trips will be easily managed. Your concerns are legit, but they are phase 4 or 5 down the road. Baby steps.

[@Scottietheyoung]

Just amazing! Its not just practical it looks amazing.

[@thewavehunter]

U folks at CNBC do a great job on these EV and auto-related “series” stories - topical and informative. Please produce more.

[@Surfsail]

I picked up a flight specialist as a Lyft driver and during our conversation he said to me if anybody ever told me that they saw a flying saucer I would tell them that it was Lockheed Joby and Lockheed work hand in hand

[@mollydaniel2789]

Wish you all the best to Joby Aviation and team for fulfilling your dream.

[@johnslaughter5475]

I'm willing to take a chance on the stock. It can't go much lower, so it's just up, up, and away. I live an hour's drive from the nearest major airport. I can really envision having one of these come over from the local small airport, 20 miles away, and then take me to the major airport, 50 miles away. Yes, I have a concern about the air traffic controller. My father was a Navy AC for over 20 years. I saw what it was like in very congested areas when they still had green on black radar that was full of ground clutter and there was no identification of the aircraft. You had to pick out that blip and direct it in. I am sure that as the computers get even better and more reliable, they will be able to handle the additional low altitude traffic.

[@theplanebrain]

It can always go lower.

[@olska9498]

It has a $4.5bn market cap. Believe me, it can go WAY lower. There is already much discussion about prohibiting cars inside cities due to the noise pollution. Cities won't ever allow 40,000 of these loud drones buzzing around in the air.🤣🤣

[@rond5936]

I can't imaging just 10,000 air taxis flying over our offices and homes in a city. It's going to be like hell.

[@KRYMauL]

That’s not what’s going to happen, these will likely be dedicated to certain lanes. Also, streetcars are better in general.

[@johniii8147]

The business model is highly questionable so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[@Dragoon01]

@@johniii8147 what makes the buisness model questionable? Conventional helicopter companies turn over significant revenue. If these fulfill their promise costing less to operate and charging less surely these will generate as much as if not more than typical helicopter companies?

[@johniii8147]

@@Dragoon01 Their is a HUGE difference for the helicopter companies that cater to the rich with very little actual air traffic. Entirely different thing for this "air taxi" concept that costs what you'd pay for an Uber. Simply not likely to happen.

[@DrJohnnyJ]

What is your issue? I can easily imagine it with autonomous flying. Say each taxi needs 20 meters vertical space and 20 meters horizontal = 8,000 cubic meters and that the ceiling is 3,000 meters. You can fit tons into one kilometer of surface space: 3,000 x 1,000 x 1,000/8,000 = 266,000 Air taxis per square kilometer.

[@planeman1995]

Ex RAF and Civil Aviation here - Think there will have to be a huge amount for infrastructure to cope with sizeable numbers of these craft. not to mention the safety aspect in the air and on the ground and above all - Air traffic Crontrol. Events will bear me out over time.

[@Birdylockso]

Regarding the Air traffic controls, I think the restricted airspace by height limitation of these eVTOLs would reduce the legal quagmires for FAA.

[@keiths5788]

LinkedIn has the best and most up to date on all EVTOL activity. Currently, Joby and Archer are leading the pack but as so many have commented here, there is a tremendous amount of unknowns and challenges for EVTOL to truly provide impactful urban transportation.

[@vNYCblade]

Damn, JOBY seems to be the most advanced in terms of overall engineering... very impressive...

[@andrewdoesyt7787]

I would say Archer Aero is more advanced.

[@rscott2247]

I think utilizing the best batteries will be a massive factor in bringing these eVTOL's to scale !

[@QuantumIdeas]

If we have Toyota, Delta Airlines, Department of Defense and other significant investors putting in some dough to it, this is going to be a sure hit product. Can't wait to see this in 2024 operating commercially!!

[@dcxplant]

🤣 Great material! Do you have a tight 5 ready for your standup routine? I'd bet it's just as funny!

[@fahid3342]

@@dcxplant shut up

[@dp92492]

That's a joke correct?

[@glennalexon1530]

16:50 "We are going to continue to deliver" is a bold promise from a company that hasn't delivered a single product or service.

[@polaris1985]

I see this as a great transport from city center to Airports built away from cities, or Airports connecting Airports in big cities at 100 km distance to each other.

[@FinancialShinanigan]

Looking forward to all those Flying Taxi Crash Compilation videos

[@rhozpogi]

Do u like watching helicopter crash videos? Its the same.

[@trevornoah944]

Okay👆Let's talk >💌

[@CLEFAN18]

eVTOL has already lapsed AMTRACK 100 fold. The fact that these major government subsidized airline companies are funneling BILLIONS of dollars into eVTOL is a DIRECT indicator that it will in fact be a part of the very near future of travel. It also coincides with Boeings statement a couple of years ago about reducing their carbon footprint by nearly 50% by 2050 I believe it was. Not only will this be accessible to the Public very soon, but it'll most likely revolutionize air travel as we know it as we continue to progress on battery life span. Think of how many people would rather hop in an eVTOL to travel from Florida to Charlotte NC. The quietness, the low altitude, as well as not being surrounded by 200 other people in a tin can 30,000ft in the air is a HUGE sell point. Even if that means having to hop on multiple eVTOL's to get to your desired state. I know that I personally would be the first in line. I would rather take 5 eVTOL's to NY that takes 5hrs from FL rather than hop on a commercial airplane lmao. I got the John Madden bug.

[@mirzaahmed6589]

You can't even spell Amtrak correctly.

[@mikusoxlongius]

Nikki? Is that you?

[@mysmith7]

This is not new, but glad you're covering it.

[@autumn3510]

Or hear me out…we can just invest in a rail system like every other industrialized nation instead of giving each individual a mini helicopter to get over traffic

[@Dragoon01]

A giant networked hyperloop system around the entire country is obviously the best method of transportation. Who's going to fund it? Nobody. The cheapest workarounds will always succeed whether that is good or bad

[@greg2141]

That’s no fun! Don’t lie… I know you want an electric helicopter.

[@DougWedel-wj2jl]

Afghanistan would be a perfect place to test flying taxis. Sparse mountain populations means it’s expensive to get around on the ground, fewer people to hit if there is an accidental crash, the mountains have unusual wind and turbulence to learn to cope with. Lots of sunshine for solar panel power generation.

[@j4k3br4k3]

Yup. Cant wait to be able to use this service to get around SF Bay Area and fly past the traffic.

[@KRYMauL]

Or you know just make a true high speed rail network by upgrading existing tracks to allow for 160 to 180 km/h. Because iterating on an existing technology always creates better results than a gadgetbahn. As cool as a evtol may seem on paper they only make sense as spaceship.

[@onsokumaru4663]

You do realise that this thing is not gonna be landing in front of your home driveway or street.

[@johniii8147]

You will be "waiting" a while.

[@trevornoah944]

Okay👆Let's talk >💌

[@craigspielmann3998]

This is definitely the future! I can’t believe the controls and stability that my DJI drone has and I’m sure this is a thousand times better. Sign me up!

[@professormiles1890]

This is amazing. From downtown to the airport will never be the same.

[@jokedog]

How is this amazing? Doesn't helicopter currently doing that?

[@Texasbmw11]

@@jokedog the cost for a helicopter is 10x more expensive than the target goal....

[@chiquita683]

@@Texasbmw11 the target goal lol. Give us the actual cost now not a fantasy cost. They are building literally tens of them they said, you think all that equipment is cheaper than a mass produced helicopter? And where do you think it's going to land, in the middle of the street?

[@da_crazybrian9115]

And also this is dangerous and will be horrible for our mental health and the already crowded air space

[@Texasbmw11]

@@da_crazybrian9115 is driving not dangerous..? Are roads not over crowded…?

[@0605H55597]

I think this is great. This can be solution to rush hour triad congestion and long que from work back to home.

[@zacharyparis]

With all these new fancy technologies you need to add “for the rich” at the end of each sentence.

[@thestockfother]

No. The point is for mass production to bring down charging fees

[@zacharyparis]

@@thestockfother you forgot to add “for the rich” at the end of your sentence.

[@thestockfother]

@@zacharyparis everyone is rich in America. Move here fam

[@Atheist7]

ALL IS GOOD with these, on a slightly breezy or less, sunny day.

[@briand5379]

While I like the idea and think this would be a great replacement for helicopters, I have my doubts you'll be able to pick up or dropoff someone on a two lane residential street with a 38ft aircraft. Which means you're stuck using helipads, which will limit its use. If you could cut the dimensions in half, so it was the size of a Suburban or a Hummer, then it might have some potential to dominate the ride-hail industry.

[@P2Feener305]

Ever been in the back seat of an nyc yellow cab? You’d get in one of those..but in the sky..? You must not value your life.

[@Hug_life]

@@P2Feener305 If there was rapid adoption for this tech in major urban landscapes to the measure of a “NYC yellow cab” then yeah I’d write my family telling them I love them before every flight 😂. But the reality of this is that there are 13,587 Cabs in NYV by law. So maybe someone in 1897 had similar concerns and proposed a legal cap. Im sure various municipalities will assign similar and even more strict regulations. The big x factor is how fast and how well automation advanced. Because if the system is completely automated (which i assume is their end goal) then you could have hundreds of thousands operating because the AI programs every calculation to the route including hazards time delays obstructions etc. so long story short i would trust it now as a novelty/niche form of transportation and I assume I will also trust it 20 years from now as a daily form of transportation assuming its automated or if piloted then not over populated. Sorry for the long response lol

[@Dragoon01]

I agree these won't ever be landing in streets, more like wealthy home owner gardens initially with "verti-ports" becoming the norm later

[@darinherrick9224]

parking lots. Tons of room.

[@eddienoragong402]

@@P2Feener305 An FAA certified pilot gets substantially more training than a cabbie, and much less traffic to contend with in the air, for such traffic is highly regulated.

[@rogermccormick5248]

IM CLIMAXING ON FREE SPEECH IT FEELS SOOO GOOD.

[@samsfk4877]

I'll stick to trains and other public transport options

[@trevornoah944]

Okay 👆Let's talk >💌

[@rolflandale2565]

What became positive in flying transportation, is the critical implementation of safety and liability. A legality in history that lacked to the point of so many fatalities & aviation traffic nightmares in the past.

[@alanblanco930]

Every year I see the same news, and still, no flying taxis!

[@trevornoah944]

Okay👆Let's talk >💌

[@aybee63]

So when exactly will these be available as passenger aircraft?

[@denniswoo9334]

How long for fully charge?

[@pandabear5746]

Cool idea. Not sure if this is economically possible without self-flying.

[@rajuaditya1914]

Autonomous flying

[@vanlifeveteran3376]

That will come later.

[@emadalvi3006]

Hear me out, these things will likely have fix routes because flying over populated areas, critical infrastructure, military bases, etc is no bueno. Trains also have fixed routes

[@TankDerek]

Trains require significantly more capital investment and limit land use. Even if VTOLs are limited to specific routes, they'll still have significant advantages over trains and taxis

[@seankilburn7200]

@@TankDerek But surely if they’re restricted to fixed routes they’ll eventually become congested once they become popular and you’re left with the same issue you face with cars. The key advantages of rail networks are that they eliminate congestion and are highly efficient, transporting large numbers of people at high speeds using a single propulsion system. Whichever way you spin this, I can’t see it ever being a more viable solution that constructing high quality rail infrastructure.

[@bigearl3867]

@@seankilburn7200 We will always need a rail system to move goods and heavy equipment. But this is a new technology that can revolutionize our commute from work, or nearby towns. It may start off like a taxi and grow into something like a shuttle bus. You could run them say twenty minutes apart so people can exit and board them. Just an idea I got watching this.

[@seankilburn7200]

@@bigearl3867 None of what you have said changes the scenario I’ve described though. Despite being in the air these vehicles will be restricted to certain routes which will completely eradicate the advantage of operating above ground as eventually the routes will get busier and busier until they are just as congested as our roads. It is a fact that their flight paths will be heavily restricted as it would be a nightmare allowing vehicles like this to operate as they please on a large scale. The only future that this technology has is serving the very wealthiest in society or possibly in some very unique circumstances where terrain is very difficult to traverse.

[@oscarhagman8247]

@@bigearl3867 That just sounds like trains but with extra steps

[@nicknamenick9448]

I’m glad they have achieved such amazing results👍

[@FedJimSmith]

flying is nice and fun, but Minority Report's grid transportation I think is more optimal/efficient transpo of the future

[@mistygoodpuppy6167]

Robotic NDT looks amazing!!

[@MonsterSound]

JOBY seems to be the most advanced in terms of quiet flight, speed, control and distance. Cost may be higher though.

[@tyapka]

If only you knew guys how much I wish them luck.

[@heinousanus9352]

Lilium's is the coolest by far, but Joby seems on course to be the Tesla of this biz.

[@johnmcdermott7649]

the FAA spokesman said this aircraft the can hover and then translate to forward flight, requires a lot of new processes to be safe (I paraphrase). Helicopters have been doing this very thing for well over 70 years.

[@igorjung]

yeah and how often do you take off in it?

[@WhenTheLionRoars]

The FAA spokesman is now working for Archer Aviation

[@karlossargeant3872]

I Love watching these Videos on Flying Taxis Like The eVTOL I hoped too fly them in the upcoming future God's Willing hopefully within New York City & The United Kingdom even Canada too. Awesome Video!!!!

[@trevornoah944]

👆Let's talk >💌

[@RomietNJulio]

Comparing the past 100 or 200 years ago to now, the biggest change is the change in vehicles. I think that in 100 or 200 years, personal aviation will be pretty usual.

[@helix1061]

Awesome. This is how innovation progresses. It will become normal 10 years from now.

[@MTB_Rider_96]

These small electric aircraft are using Generation I Lithium battery technology. When the lighter and more powerful Next Generation battery technology gets scaled-up, probably in 2026, these small aircraft will be able to go 300 to 500 miles on a charge. This is Huge!

[@georgemarak58]

Helicopters or and any vertically propelled vehicles are one of the most unsafest flying travelling modes. This is because if the engine fails you virtually fall out of the sky. Where as in an airplane you can glide for a certain distance. So I personally I wouldn’t want to be pilot of a flying taxi. For helicopter pilots if they fly for 23 years there is a 23% chance of being in dangerous or fatal accident. ( not sure if it’s exactly that number but it’s way higher than airplanes).

[@localbands5117]

Does the vehicle have an “Accident Avoidance “ feature or we might have plenty of mishaps in the air?

[@yeojinha930]

I am curious if it is possible to make bigger size than now like airplanes? and someday we get on that drone??

[@bernard7360]

Looks really cool

[@mahbubhossainshamol9362]

Biggest hurdle is not safety , it is the noise.

[@nathanryweck3137]

With a range of only 150 miles, it is going to be able to make one flight from where I live to the airport, then will it need 15 minutes to recharge?

[@replica1052]

(fly at the height of your compass degrees (with different korridors for difference in speed )

[@mikusoxlongius]

What happens when the battery catches fire midflight? Can it be used in high altitude cities? How's it do during cold winters and hot summers? About as good as a Tesla in Chicago winter...

[@enerji4330]

It could be due to the cheap Chinese battery packs.

[@Shredxcam22]

Connect rural towns with major airports. I have to drive 2.5 hours to get to an airport.

[@natarajrangayana]

Have a Great success!

[@WildVandenberg]

This is really exciting news and I cant wait to see what happens!

[@yvonneplant9434]

A bunch of collisions, accidents and people dying.

[@KRYMauL]

@@yvonneplant9434 the pilots must be certified, and you will not touch the controls unless you’re get your license.

[@onsokumaru4663]

Nothing will happen except for the hype slowly fading away into oblivion.

[@trevornoah944]

👆Let's talk >💌✔

[@MasterBlek]

@@yvonneplant9434 Don't forget the company blaming people for being on the ground.

[@louiswilliams4657]

I think this real cool !

[@Atheist7]

People are already "up in arms" about all of the leaf blowers in operation... and now THIS?!?!!

[@GaulonLance]

Well its about time you actually show it flying!

[@mikemchale7639]

Really enjoyed the production first class I just hope they can get through the bureaucracy of the FAA

[@dertythegrower]

It already did... eHang is one of them

[@frankyflowers]

they can't but they can try and con investors during the long process.

[@trevornoah944]

Okay👆Let's talk >

[@usnchief1339]

I will be a taxi flier for my 3rd carrier if this actually gets certified.

[@TimothyBrill]

so what about using these as a substitute for helicopter rides to show sites of the city? They are quieter and can travel the same way as they do.

[@pauldannelachica2388]

Wow very nice CNBC

[@randomguy1118]

Drone Taxis? While Asia has levitating trains called Maglev... They should've done more research in making floating cars using magnets

[@trevornoah944]

👆Let's talk >💌

[@Morbing_Time]

or just built a regular wheeled trains, they're way more cost effective in construction and upkeep

[@Danielle_1234]

When you get in a car you can end up in a crash. That's just the nature of driving. When one of these are flying over your house and you're sleeping in bed, you're at risk of getting in a fatal crash. It's at risk of landing on you. The risk goes up from just being at risk when traveling to at risk whenever one of these are around you, regardless if you're the one doing the traveling or not. This I guarantee will get these devices banned if they gain any level of popularity. Flying cars / flying taxis might be able to become the future if they only are allowed to fly in certain places like a road in the air. Much like many sci-fi movies depict them. The downside of this is they're not faster than cars and with limited airspace you end up with traffic jam like conditions. At that point, what's the point?

[@KRYMauL]

You will not touch the controls without a pilot’s license this requires 10.000 hours to get.

[@trevornoah944]

Okay 👆Let's talk >💌

[@MalfosRanger]

Rural air travel is one thing, but cities need solutions that move lots of people at a time.

[@kurtkeaner]

Doesn’t this same type of service exist with helicopters?

[@saulgoodman2018]

And helicopters don't cost millions of dollars.

[@trevornoah944]

Okay👆Let's talk >💌

[@Dragoon01]

Helicopters are extremely noisy and have heavily restricted flight routes because of it.

[@saulgoodman2018]

@@Dragoon01 And these will have have heavily restricted flight routes too.

[@Dragoon01]

@@saulgoodman2018 not based on noise pollution, that's the difference.

[@robertlee8805]

How about these at train stations or onto of parking garages in small cities need faster transportation over traffic to major employers?

[@tripham2850]

Bicycle with added on 4 blade antigravity drones propeller would be great

[@trevornoah944]

👆Let's talk >💌

[@apollostrong7490]

Protect out existing infrostructure/ Small airports!!

[@growingup15]

you know what can also get you from the Airport and Downtown quickly. TRAINS! America. the only country that will invest in everything except the right thing. I can see uses for this in the future but right now lets fix our transit first before we throw money at an idea thats just gonna get clogged up like our roads and put that money into real change like better transit, Buses, Trains better walking and bikeable friendly cities.

[@MalfosRanger]

Public transit would be a better investment for getting cars off the road. If only it didn't take bullet trains to generate buzz.

[@auro1986]

so flying taxis is the new name for helicopter?

[@KRYMauL]

That was the original idea for a helicopter.

[@onsokumaru4663]

Pretty much, also someone tried to rebrand a train to Hype-loop. Scammers these days get you with fancy buzz words.

[@LexlutherVII]

illogical isn't it?

[@Adrian-lc6jq]

​@@onsokumaru4663 monorail

[@trevornoah944]

👆Let's talk >💌✔

[@edgard3659]

Does it have an 8Ttack tape stereo today -150 miles isn't far to travel on one charge.

[@PeterAJB]

For people saying this is for the rich, it should be pointed out that for the first 20years cars were for the rich only, then for the next 20 it was for the slightly less rich along with some business and professions who particularly benefitted from cars, only becoming a widely owned good in USA in the 1950s, after they had been around for 50years or more. In Europe cars became widespread even later. The rich will get things first, because the rich always get (and fund) things first. That doesn't mean it's not the future.

[@trevornoah944]

Okay👆Let's talk >💌

[@Bash70]

There's no way for something like this to scale to a reasonable size as nobody will accept heavy congestion of low flying vehicles roaming around their neighborhood; it's already a headache for cars, why on earth would you think people will start accepting this? Only those with money will be able to capitalize on this. It also doesn't change the fact that these kind of ventures are a complete gimmick in comparison to the main solution that would actually solve transportation issues: improving public transportation. But of course that's not as profitable so nobody cares.

[@fdortely]

@@Bash70 you’ll accept because you won’t hear it happening or see it.

[@juki0h391]

This is great, but I don't know how well this will do in America, because the US is not designed like some other countries, it relies heavily on the car. Maybe, countries that don't rely so heavily on the car, such as European countries, some in Asia, and elsewhere.

[@bobk544]

Can it land like a regular plane with the props locked down and forward?

[@bronxishomenomatterwhereig3149]

It don't need to. That's the point. It can take off and land vertically. And it produces so much less noise and wind than a helicopter. That's its practical to use in cities where it can land almost anywhere.

[@basils.254]

Where will eVTOLs take off and land in cities? Helipads? There are currently very few of those. Without the needed infrastructure in cities, such aircraft are not feasible.

[@rickdeckard9810]

They should regulate all EV taxis have ballistic parachutes.

[@user-hu8ps4zc5y]

chills. one question. where you getting the electricity?

[@greg.peepeeface]

The stock was at a low of a 4.20-4.50, down from 6.30, so if any investors want to get in on it, it's not that bad of a time to do so.

[@frankyflowers]

its vaporware and will fold.

[@lambertois11]

Joby Aviation is a zombie company that does not generate enough cashflow to pay their loans. Joby Aviation was able to survive because of the low interest rate. The area of low interest rate is long gone. Jody Aviation will also be long gone soon. 🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑

[@greg.peepeeface]

@@lambertois11 everybody on the internet loves to share their feelings like I care about yours…. get your mom to give you a hug.

[@greg.peepeeface]

@@frankyflowers this isnt the Nikola, it’s more on par with the Mitsubishi SpaceJet (as in phase, not canceled indefinitely).

[@frankyflowers]

@@greg.peepeeface i made a video about why this stock is bad. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKu6fqKnZseDjsU

[@dunodolien674]

I come from Europe and trust me, environmental issues are crucial, like carbon neutrality and integration within the eco-environment. All of them would have been front and center in such a video!

[@KRYMauL]

A train with overhead wires has less environment environmental impact, can transport more people, and produces less carbon emissions overall. You should know this, a heli-taxi is always impractical outside of a large cyberpunk or solarpunk mega city. It may have niche applications in rapid medical deployments in rural areas.

[@trevornoah944]

Okay👆Let's talk >💌

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

Auuuhhhh.....you did hear that these are ELECTRIC, not ICE right? Think of them as helicopter replacements.

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

@@KRYMauL Many of the target cities for this technology (like NY and SF) already have extensive light rail and subway systems. They're not enough. And as for the cities that don't have fully developed public transportation, like LA, building an extensive rail system at this late date would not only be impratical but also physically impossible. LA metro is 33,000 sq miles/ 85,000 sq km, would easily cost hundreds of billions of dollars, take decades to complete and would disrupt already struggling brick and mortar commerce with construction zones. This is not even considering construction in or through affluent areas were legal action will prevent ANY progress. (Do an internet search on South Pasadena and the 710 Freeway. Eminent domain is only for the poor.)

[@KRYMauL]

@@helifanodobezanozi7689 That's what helicopters are for.

[@1337flite]

"Propulsion units" - um, that'd be an engine right? Oh no, it's a propulsor. that'd be an engine too. What are wheels? "friction reducers"? Groundbreaking - the aircraft can hover by itself without input. Like a $600 chinese consumer drone. Bravo!!!! That's a real selling point. There's not much new here except scale and the willingness to go through the certification process. The tech essentially aleady existed. I wonder iuf the Uber version will be like the Uber ground ride share,. You know the pilot contacts you are asks you to cancel the trip because he doesn't want to take it but didnt want to reject it because it will effect his record with Uber. The last thing I want for a relatively expenesive air travel trip is an Uber experience. It will be interesting to see how they handle charging and/or battery charging and from that the economics/business model of these aircraft. I think there will need to be a LOT of innovation and regulation to make this technology work as metro/sub-rergional scale ait taxies. I imagine they'd make great aero-ambulances but I think using them as a wide scale common carrier is gonna be a lot harder.

[@spiritdeer4687]

This is a dream come true! We will finally be able to shorten the time of our commutes! From pioneer wagons and trains to cars and now to copters! I would take several “hop flights” to my destination rather than take an airliner today!

[@deanfowles3707]

Ahh bless you

[@Jesus07147]

Quanto custa essa eronave?

[@Atheist7]

Which one of those ~150 companies built S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier??

[@alparslankorkmaz2964]

Nice video

[@juanbatch8494]

The design must be impossible to have an engine out. I'm very curious how engine outs are handled.

[@3030bory]

Weight is key. Like baggage's extra apperals etc. Or even da materials ur using for rhe aircraft is crucial. Light weight all day.

[@AKKHUPAWAR]

Is there anything left more to increase carbon footprint?

[@trevornoah944]

Okay 👆Let's talk >💌

[@mikemiller659]

Lets see who is the First person to be Cut to Bits by one of those many blades, followed by how long before one falls into the back yard of some home.

[@theplanebrain]

How much vapor does a single aircraft produce?

[@coolcuber1]

Interesting

[@trevornoah944]

Okay 👆Let's talk >

[@JesterHorse]

They want more pilots. We don’t even have enough to operate our current aircraft. How are we going to accomplish these

[@QuantumIdeas]

Flight automation is going to eventually come to this. Eventually, flying this aircraft will not need a licensed pilot anymore.

[@YouPube_X]

@@QuantumIdeas absolutely. In 30 years or so.

[@sahebchoudhury]

How long do we wait? What about safety?

[@frankyflowers]

it can't lift people.

[@trevornoah944]

Okay👆Let's talk >