Ep 148: JoeBen Bevirt, Founder & CEO of Joby Aviation — Flying Cars Have Arrived

Key Takeaways

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  Joby's vertical integration and Toyota partnership are key to mass production - By controlling the manufacturing stack and leveraging Toyota’s high-reliability standards, Joby is scaling to produce aircraft that are 100x quieter and significantly safer than traditional helicopters.

  “Toyota is one of our most significant investors... Toyota is known around the world for the quality and the reliability with which they build.”

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  Commercial air taxi services are launching in 12 states under new FAA programs - The EVTOL Integration Pilot Program (EIPP) has accelerated regulatory approval, potentially allowing the public to pay for rides as early as the end of this year.

  “There's going to be 12 states across the country where we're going to be able to test these next generation technologies... [and buy a ride] As soon as the end of this year.”

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  AI and hydrogen are providing 10x gains in aviation engineering and range - AI-driven design is radically increasing aerodynamic productivity while new hydrogen-based propulsion systems promise to extend flight range at a much lower cost than batteries alone.

  “You take one of the greatest aerodynamic minds on the planet and you enable him with something that makes him 10x as productive. The benefits compound in a crazy way.”

Episode Description

Last year, JoeBen Bevirt joined the show to discuss the vision behind Joby Aviation and bringing air taxis to life. Now, he's back to talk execution and getting to market this year! What states will be first to offer Joby rides — and when? How is Joby ramping up manufacturing to meet the moment? And how is AI making Joby’s top scientists over 10X more productive and accelerating decades of advancement into the next few years?" As Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, JoeBen has spent more than a decade building Joby into the leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and we begin with its unique design: 100 times quieter than a helicopter and dramatically safer to operate with layered redundancy across six propulsion stations, dual motors, and dual battery packs. Next, we talk about the significance of Joby's partnership with Toyota, how they're ramping up manufacturing, and why they're massively expanding their Ohio facilities. Then, JoeBen lays out their regulatory progress, from achieving their first FAA-conforming aircraft to the White House's historic pilot program that will bring air taxis to 12 states starting this year, including Texas!Additionally, we explore the coming age of autonomy, why Joby is partnering with NVIDIA to build out its autonomous flight stack, and how AI is transforming everything from aerodynamics research to back-office tasks. You'll also learn about Joby's breakthrough hydrogen-electric program — unlocking long-range commercial and defense applications — and why staying ahead of China is critical for American leadership in this next age of flight. Finally, JoeBen shares his grand vision for an electric era of aviation and a future without traffic — something we can all get behind. 00:00 Episode Intro 01:50 What sets Joby aircraft apart 04:50 Key partnerships with Toyota & NVIDIA 06:50 Closing in on FAA Certification 08:00 Air Taxis coming to 12 states this year! 13:35 Autonomous flight is the future 20:00 Hydrogen aircraft for the Pentagon 24:10 Why AI is a game changer 28:15 Expansion in Ohio and Global Competition with China 34:40 Addressing critics / future vision 35:50 Making air travel ubiquitous This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com