You don’t have to believe in flying cars to be intrigued by electric-aircraft start-ups like Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation.
A century of unfulfilled science fiction has left understandable skepticism about the half-dozen firms that floated shares in the past few years on promises of commercializing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft—or eVTOLs. It doesn’t help that most of the stocks have sunk 50% or more since.
But these flying taxis are real—and coming in a couple of years. Crowned by rotors, these craft will carry a pilot and four passengers up to 100 miles, taking off like a helicopter and cruising at 200 miles an hour—with little noise and no exhaust.
In a few years, eVTOLs could start replacing helicopter transportation in and around urban centers. In a decade, urban areas could have hundreds of eVTOLs each, operated by Uber-style fly-share services. The potential upside: tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue.
