Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.
Small electric aviation vehicles have been getting hyped for … several years. I remember a writer on CleanTechnica who was obsessed with electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft nearly a decade ago. Heck, electric aircraft was even supposed to be the subject of Elon Musk’s first meeting with JB Straubel. (Funny enough considering what we’ve seen from Musk in recent years, Straubel reportedly talked sense into him and helped him to realize the technology wasn’t yet ripe for electric aircraft, and the evolving discussion led them to Tesla.)
The problem is that it hasn’t yet made market-competitive, financial sense to produce fancy small electric aircraft. Toyota and Joby Aviation seem to think that’s about to change. The two companies published a press release with the following title earlier today: “Joby Aviation and Toyota Motor Corporation Launch Initial Phase of a Strategic Manufacturing Alliance to Realize Air Mobility for All.” Hmm….
“Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY) and Toyota Motor Corporation today announced the initial phase of their strategic manufacturing alliance by establishing the Joint Venture to realize air mobility. This will combine Joby’s pioneering work in electric aviation with Toyota’s globally recognized expertise in production systems and operational excellence,” they write. That does sound like it makes sense on the surface.
