Where we're going, we don't need roads

Memorial Day weekend is here. Summer is kicking off. People are going to be sitting in traffic all across the country this weekend.

In a few years, we’ll be above traffic in eVTOLs.

Let’s dig in!

What you need to know in eVTOLs this week

Volocopter

Things change quickly in the eVTOL game.

A year ago Germany based Volocopter was on top of the world.

Last month, they announced the company would have to consider insolvency if their current financial problems were not resolved.

Now they’re walking back the commitment to have their eVTOL used during the Summer Olympics in Paris this year.

"We will probably not be able to transport paying passengers," said Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke.

Passengers would be allowed to fly "by invitation" - for example politicians, athletes and experts.

In typical French fashion, local politicians and environmental groups are up in arms against the plan, especially against an inner-city landing pad that is to be set up on a barge on the Seine for a few months.

Horizon Aircraft

At some point in history, there was a guy that said, “what if we put fans in the wings?”

And here we are.

Horizon’s Cavorite X7 can take off and land vertically using 16 electric fans mounted in the wing and tail, then transition to forward flight like a normal plane.

And it just took a flight proving it works.

The propulsion is a hybrid system. The fans are electric and connected to batteries but there is a generator on board to charge them during flight, extending the range to around 500 miles.

Eve Air Mobility

The middle east is quickly becoming the hotbed for eVTOLs.

Several companies have agreements in place to build and operate in the UAE and now Saudi Arabia is getting in on the action.

Government owned ‘Saudia Technic’ (the Kingdom always gives the most boring names to their state owned companies), a leading maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) service provider, signed a memorandum of understanding, focusing on exploring the potential demand for their services.

Saudia Arabia wants to ensure the development of specialized training programs for local MRO technicians.

And passengers want peace of mind that the guy working on the eVTOL is well trained and skilled enough to ensure the safety, reliability of the aircraft, so it seems like a fair ask.

Wise Aero

Wisk Aero just got a nice little cash injection of $95M from parent company, Boeing.

The funds are headed to Wisk’s Montreal-based engineering center and part of Boeing’s Industrial and Technological Benefits commitment to Canada.

Many of Wisk’s competitors are funded by venture capital firms. Everyone in the space is perpetually running out of money as they work towards commercialization, so having Boeing to refill your coffers is a nice safety net.

LIFT Aircraft

It’s not exactly an eVTOL, but worth keeping an eye on.

LIFT Aircraft’s “HEXA” is basically 18 propellers attached to a carbon fiber frame with a single seat passenger cabin. It only weighs 432 lbs and doesn’t require a pilot’s license.

And the company claims it’s easy to fly.

The Japanese are excited about it. Hundreds of spectators came out to watch it hover for 15 minutes in Tokyo.

"I want more people to experience this cutting-edge technology," Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said at a ceremony for the maiden flight. "I look forward to flying cars becoming a normal means of transportation."

The Markets

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

There is a lot of red this week.

If there was an ETF Manger that invested client money in eVTOLs promising short term gains, they’d have some explaining to do right about now.

The Life Savings Bet

"Be busy at work, and lazy at investing”

-Naval Ravikant

Naval is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and seems to have a pretty good life, so I’ll follow his directions.

Hopefully by “lazy” he meant put $100K into a Joby and don’t touch it.

We’ll see…

So are we in the money?!

Negative. We are down. Our break even is $5.22 and Joby is trading at $4.81 so down almost $8,000.

But patience is a virtue and we’re staying focused on the long game.

Lighten Up

Final Question

What eVTOL company would you put your life savings into and why? — best reply gets a shoutout next week.

Best Answer From Last Week

I asked “Should you tip an eVTOL pilot like an Uber driver? Or no tip because if you don’t tip the Delta Airlines pilot, why would you tip the eVTOL pilot?”

Best reply came from Chav in California

“I hope these eVTOL pilots are better qualified than the uber X drivers I’ve been getting lately. If they’re are working for tips I don’t know if they’re the person I want chauffeuring me around in an oversized piloted drone.”

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