All Signs Point to eVTOLs flying soon

And those signs are getting more and more clear

October 18, 2024

Let’s goooo!! We’re ready here at Go Above Traffic.

We are the only eVTOL newsletter that is dishing out knowledge like hot cakes.

Here we go:

What you need to know in eVTOLs this week

Lilium

Lilium’s situation is dire.

Without a quick cash injection, the company could be staring down the barrel of insolvency.

They’ve been looking for €100 million ($107 million) in loan guarantees, split evenly between the German federal government and the state of Bavaria.

The update as of this week is that receiving federal government money is off the table.

Unless a miracle happens vultures will be flocking and the debt holders will be lining up.

Not a good look for the German start up scene.

Eve Air Mobility

Eve just added another $88 million to the war chest.

They got their hands on a loan agreement from Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES) to fund the development of their production facility São Paulo, Brazil.

The subsidiary of Embraer expects to obtain certification and enter service in 2026.

They claim to have 3,000-ish potential orders ahead of production with potential revenue of $14.5 billion.

Every eVTOL company seems to have lofty projections of their revenue so we’ll see.

If it comes to fruition for Eve, they’ll be in a very good spot.

Sarla Aviaiton

Sarla Aviation is hoping to become the next thing out of India since Chicken Tikka Masala.

On Monday, the Bengaluru based eVTOL company announced a partnership with Bangalore International Airport to make it India’s first eVTOL-friendly airport.

It will take at least 2 years before operations are fully up and running.

If/when ot comes together - the journey of 1.5 hours to Bengaluru airport from the city can be reduced to just ‘five minutes’ through Sarla’s seven-seater eVTOL.

If you think Memorandum’s of Understanding are meaningful, Wisk Aero has good news.

They’ve just signed an MoU with Airservces Australia, a government-owned organization responsible for air traffic management, to evaluate how autonomous, uncrewed air taxis can be safely integrated into the national airspace. 

This partnership underscores Australia’s ambition to become a leader in the global shift towards advanced air mobility, particularly as the country prepares for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

While piloted eVTOLs will almost undoubtedly get to certification and commercialization first, Wisk could leapfrog everyone going straight to autonomous flight.

The Markets

Or “The Casino” if you prefer the Wall Street Bets mentality…

This week is a little of this, a little of that.

EHang has been volatile and had a down week.

Lilium is fighting off a financial collapse, so no surprise they’re down this week.

Otherwise, it’s ho hum, ho hum another day in the markets.

The Q4 2024 stretch will be pretty telling but for now it’s another day, another dollar.

The $100K Life Savings Bet

If you have trouble imagining a 20% loss in the stock market, you shouldn’t be in stocks. -

- John Bogle

John Bogle founded The Vanguard Group.

He was the CEO for decades and popularized low cost investment index investing.

Safe to say, he would not be a fan of putting your life savings into a single stock.

Let alone a stock as risky as Joby.

Setting that aside for a second, it’s a worthwhile mental exercise to consider if Bogle’s quote would apply to the $100K life savings investment in Joby.

The good news - my answer is a resounding yes. If Joby lost 20%… or even more, would I still be in the stock.

So are we in the money?!

Almost no change at all from last week.

Still up a bit over $5K.

The real movement is on the very very distant horizon.

So we’ll file this under “no news is good news" and hang tight.

Even if we go down a bit from here, it wouldn’t change the game plan.

We hold.

Lighten Up

Final Question

If you could have one cold beverage waiting for you on every eVTOL flight, what are you choosing?

— best reply gets a shoutout next week.

Best Answer From Last Week

I asked, “If you could have one cold beverage waiting for you on every eVTOL flight, what are you choosing?”

Best reply came from Jason in Dallas:

“Everyone who says a beer or champagne in plastic flute in first class is dead wrong. All you need on a flight is the overpriced bottle of really tall Smart Water.

Thanks for reading and let us know what you want to see more of next week. We read every single reply.

Stay above.

— The Above Traffic Team

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