Wall Street has found an even more outlandish combination than blank check companies and electric vehicles: blank check companies and Jetsons-style flying taxis. While there is some promise in the idea, investors should expect not too much glamor.
On Wednesday, electric air taxi developer Archer announced a merger with Atlas Crest Investment, a special-purpose acquisition company or SPAC, led by billionaire investment banker Ken Moelis. In a SPAC, investors give money to a publicly listed sponsor in hopes of finding an attractive acquisition target, without knowing what it will be. The SPAC frenzy of recent months has focused on electric vehicles and other “great” startups such as the space tourism company Virgin Galactic.
Archer will have a valuation of $ 3.8 billion and will get $ 1.1 billion in additional funding. The company’s goal is to develop an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, or eVTOL, that can fly four passengers over congested urban areas up to distances of up to 60 miles. Futurists had long predicted that people would want to work like they do in Hanna-Barbera’s famous cartoon “The Jetsons”. Now investors and companies take it seriously.
United Airlines and Mesa Airlines said Wednesday they have placed a $ 1 billion order for Archer’s planes. The idea is to make people travel from populated areas to downtown United, for example, from Hollywood to Los Angeles International Airport in 2024, reducing carbon emissions per passenger by about 50%. Archer plans to manufacture 10 vehicles that year and increase them to 250 in 2025.
Companies trying to develop aerial taxis range from manufacturers and aerospace airlines to vehicle manufacturers and technology companies. There are hundreds of designs and even the United States Air Force has partnered with some projects.