eVTOLs: Between Ridicule, Opposition, and Acceptance
- Stefan Schamberger
- Sep 11
- 4 min read
The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once said:
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident.”
Few industries illustrate this better than Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) are moving from ridicule to opposition, with short reports, lawsuits, and endless social media debates. Ironically, the louder the skepticism, the clearer the sign that the industry is becoming real.
Archer Under Fire
The latest controversy comes from Grizzly Research, which compared Archer Aviation to Nikola and dismissed its Midnight aircraft as uncertifiable.
Their case rests on five arguments:
Unrealistic timelines: 2026 certification target without a conformal prototype; Bell 525 and AW609 took 10–20 years.
Limited flight testing: Three flights in July 2025 vs. Joby’s 43.
Complex design: Twelve propulsors (six tilting, six lift) add redundancy but complicate certification.
Noise uncertainty: Cruise noise data shared, but hover/transition — the loudest phases — undisclosed.
Idle production: Reports from Georgia facilities suggest limited visible activity.
The conclusion from the Grizzly Research report: Archer isn’t just behind Joby — it may never catch up.
Context Matters
That’s only one perspective. Archer has raised nearly $3 billion from United Airlines, Stellantis, and the U.S. Air Force. That’s not casual money. But credibility alone doesn’t guarantee execution.
Meanwhile, Joby Aviation continues to set the standard. With nearly $1 billion in liquidity and more than 70% progress through FAA Stage 4 certification, Joby is well ahead on the regulatory curve. I had a rare opportunity for a one-on-one with Joby founder JoeBen Bevirt at the Farnborough Airshow. He impressed me deeply with his knowledge of composites, his laser focus on cost and scalability, and his holistic vision for building not just an aircraft, but an ecosystem, including the most recent acquisition of BLADE giving Joby a head start in operating an airport shuttle service. That conversation reinforced my conviction that Joby is more than an engineering project — it’s a carefully designed business model.
Beta Technologies: Quietly Delivering
While Archer is busy fending off critics and Joby grabs the spotlight, Beta Technologies has been methodically executing:
$300 million investment from GE Aerospace, alongside a collaboration on a hybrid-electric turbogenerator, which could extend range and open new mission profiles.
First delivery: Beta handed over its CTOL aircraft to Bristow, the global offshore and vertical lift operator — a tangible milestone that most peers have yet to reach.
Beta may not be loud, but it is building a reputation as the quiet executor, steadily stacking credibility through real milestones and heavyweight partnerships.
📌 Sidebar: The IP Battles Behind eVTOLs
Archer vs. Wisk: For years, Archer has been locked in litigation with Wisk, which accused it of stealing proprietary eVTOL design IP. The lawsuit underscored how closely scrutinized Archer’s architecture has been by rivals.
Supernal’s playbook & pause: Hyundai’s AAM arm, Supernal, has mirrored many of Archer’s design cues. But after recent leadership exits and a company-wide reset, the firm has paused its eVTOL program, with the S-A2’s future now uncertain as it reassesses market and regulatory timing. Deportation of Hyundai people from Georgia may has support such decision as well.
If Archer’s design is truly “uncertifiable,” as critics claim, then logically Wisk and Supernal would face the same challenge. Either distributed-propulsion eVTOL architectures can be certified — or multiple well-funded programs are building on a flawed foundation.
🔍 Clarification: Distributed Propulsion is the Common Thread
It’s worth noting that Joby and Beta also rely on distributed electric propulsion (DEP):
Joby: Six tilting propellers — simpler than Archer’s 12-rotor system, but still a DEP tiltrotor configuration.
Beta: Four fixed lift propellers plus one pusher propeller — a lift-plus-cruise DEP design.
All major eVTOL OEMs (Joby, Beta, Archer, Wisk, Supernal) are betting on DEP. The certification challenge is not whether DEP is viable, but whether each company’s specific implementation can demonstrate redundancy, controllability, and safety under FAA standards.
Industry Signals
The bigger picture is taking shape:
Joby: Certification leader, vertically integrated, financially robust.
Beta: Execution-focused, GE-backed, already delivering hardware.
Archer: Well-funded, design-forward, but facing credibility gaps.
Wisk & Supernal: Exposed to the same certification risks if Archer’s design is indeed flawed.
Traditional helicopter OEMs look on with suspicion, often less out of technical doubt than fear of losing market share to a disruptive new category.
Jetsons vs. Reality
Let’s be realistic: we won’t see urban skies filled with Uber-style air taxis by 2030. Vertiports require space, regulation, and social license that don’t yet exist.
But regional eVTOL services — airport shuttles, cross-bay connections, offshore energy routes — are much closer. They echo the rise of regional jets (RJs) in the 1990s.
Back then, turboprops dominated short haul flying. The introduction of 50-seat jets like the CRJ200 and Embraer ERJ-145 didn’t replace mainline aircraft, but they created a new tier of connectivity. RJs opened up routes that were too small for 737s but too far for turboprops, reshaping hub-and-spoke networks and giving smaller cities new access to global travel.
eVTOLs may follow a similar path. They won’t “replace” helicopters or narrowbodies outright, but they’ll carve out their own layer of mobility. Just as passengers once preferred “jet over prop,” tomorrow’s customers may prefer quiet, sustainable eVTOLs over helicopters for short-range mobility. And just as regional jets unlocked new city pairs, eVTOLs could unlock new urban and regional links that were uneconomical or impractical before.
Closing Thoughts
Archer’s Midnight may be the best-looking design in the pack. That matters for customer appeal — but not for FAA certification. Joby continues to prove technical maturity. Beta quietly executes with heavyweight partners. And if Archer’s critics are right about
certification, then the same skepticism must apply to Wisk and Supernal.
Every lawsuit, every short report, every heated debate brings eVTOLs closer to Schopenhauer’s third stage: acceptance as self-evident.
Comments