![Joby Aviation initiates first eVTOL test flights with a pilot onboard [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/Joby-test-flights-pilot.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Joby Aviation initiates first eVTOL test flights with a pilot onboard [Video]
eVTOL developer Joby Aviation continues to deliver key milestones in bringing its all-electric aircraft into commercial operations. Today, Joby confirmed it has completed multiple eVTOL test flights in California with a pilot onboard, with the video footage to back it up. See for yourself below.
Joby Aviation ($JOBY) eVTOL company has been getting a lot of love from Electrek lately because, well frankly, it is delivering newsworthy milestones almost monthly and appears much closer to certified and scaled aircraft production compared to many of the other eVTOL developers we cover.
Aside from its proprietary zero-emissions technology, Joby has separated itself from the aerial pack with the support from companies like Intel, JetBlue, and Toyota – the latter of which has evolved into a major partner.
Aside from commercial businesses, Joby is also touting a $131 million contract with the US Department of Defense (DOD), which includes the delivery of at least nine aircraft – two of which are air taxis for the Edwards Air Force Base in California.
While the Air Force’s first air taxi delivery wasn’t expected until early 2024, we reported in
September that Joby delivered early and test flights were imminent. Today, Joby has confirmed those flights have begun with pilots onboard – a milestone few have achieved and a sight to see for the future of zero-emissions aviation.
According to Joby, piloted test flights are now officially underway in The Golden State, and four of the company’s operators have completed successful trips aboard, including test pilot Zach Reeder in the featured image above. Previously, most of Joby’s flights have been remotely operated from the ground.
The testing occurred at Joby’s Pilot Production Facility in Marina, California, where the pilots completed specific maneuvers in the company’s pre-production aircraft, including free thrustborne hovers and forward transitions into semi-thrustborne flight. Other maneuvers included vertical takeoffs, accelerating and transitioning to forward flight, runway centerline tracking, and decelerating to a vertical landing on a representative landing pad – all necessary for FAA commercial certification someday.
Joby’s pilot test flight campaign was led by chief test pilot James “Buddy” Denham (seen above) with the goal gathering precious handling and control interface data to enable future development of the eVTOL aircraft that will inevitably face FAA certification. Denham spoke:
Having helped design and test flight controls for a wide variety of aircraft, including all three variants of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, nothing compares to the simplicity and grace of the Joby aircraft. After completing more than 400 vertical take-offs and landings from the ground, it is a privilege to sit in the cockpit of our aircraft and experience first-hand the ease and intuitive nature of the design that the Joby team has developed.
Joby also shared that its recent test flights will gather data alongside the aforementioned testing at the Edwards Air Force Base. That specific testing campaign will be focused on the eVTOL’s flight capabilities in “realistic operating scenarios.”
For now, Joby will continue to operate out of its pilot production line in California while its recently announced manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio, is being erected. When complete, that facility is expected to produce up to 500 aircraft per year. As promised, you can check out the piloted test footage in its entirely in the video below:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Electric vehicles have reached a tipping point in China. They now represent the majority of the new car market, surging to 51% market share.
China and electric vehicles are linked together.
The majority of the world’s electric vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs) are both built and sold in China.
In 2024, global electric car production reached around 17 million vehicles, with China accounting for about 12 million of those — over 70% of the world’s total.
Roughly 11 million of the 12 million EVs were also sold in China. The rest were exported to other markets.
This is impressive in itself, but China has a massive automotive market. How significant are these EV volumes within the market?
It turns out that electric vehicles just reached a tipping point in China.
According to registration data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), electric vehicle sales have achieved over 50% market share for each of the last five months.
Year-to-date, electric vehicles market share currently sits at 51% of new car sales in China. This is often viewed as a tipping point that quickly leads to electric vehicle sales dominating the entire market.
For example, EV sales reached over 50% market share in Norway in 2020 and by 2024, they were at 90%.
Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are also growing rapidly and already account for the majority of EV sales in China.
BEVs hold 31% market share of China’s passenger vehicle market.
Electrek’s Take
This is truly impressive. The world’s largest car market has an EV market share of over 50%. It shows the power of China. When it says “go, we are going electric”, they go electric.
They are also producing increasingly better products because EV manufacturers in China operate in the world’s most competitive EV market.
There are numerous models available, and it’s unlikely to be sustainable, but the best will rise to the top, and then they will set their sights on conquering overseas markets, which some of them are already doing.
It doesn’t bode well for automakers in North America and Europe unless they learn from China and commit fully to electric vehicles.
For example, Tesla, the largest EV company outside of China, has seen its sales decline in China year-to-date amid the surge in EV sales in the country. This is not a good sign. Tesla is not as competitive within China, even when producing its EVs locally, as it is outside of China, where the EV competition is less.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla has announced the Model Y Performance, available in Europe starting in September.
The Model Y Performance is now out in Europe, after Tesla teased a Friday announcement earlier this week. The teaser went out from Tesla’s Europe/Middle East account, but the release seems to only be in Europe, for now.
Tesla updated its European configurator today with the new Model Y Performance, along with details on what sort of upgrades the car gets over the other trim levels of the Model Y.
The basic headline stat is that the Performance model brings 0-100km/h (0-62mph) times down from 4.8 to 3.5 seconds, quite a leap (or 3.3 seconds for 0-60mph). This is thanks to the increased 460hp available on the Model Y Performance.
That higher level of horsepower doesn’t seem to greatly affect efficiency, though, as the car is still capable of 580km (360mi) range on the WLTP cycle – which, keep in mind, is more lenient than the EPA cycle. It also hasn’t lost much charging speed, according to Tesla, with the ability to add 243km (151mi) of range in 15 minutes – a better measure of efficiency, given Tesla doesn’t specify its battery capacities anymore. Though it does say it’s using “new, high-voltage battery cells.”
But the performance upgrade isn’t just more horsepower and better 0-60 times, there are some other design, interior and performance touches.
The Performance model comes with 21″ “Arachnid 2.0” wheels, a new wheel design, along with redesigned front and rear bumpers which look more aggressive and less flat.
On the inside, Tesla has added performance badging, reminiscent of the “Plaid” theme it has used on other performance vehicles, and has slightly increased the size of the front touchscreen (from 15.4 to 16 inches), with higher resolution to boot.
The front seats get an improvement, with adjustable thigh extensions for those with particularly long legs.
In terms of performance changes, Tesla added updated suspension to the Model Y Performance with electronic dampers. We saw this on the recent Model Y L which earned praise for its driving dynamics, despite being full of 6 adult passengers.
The Model Y performance includes a new mode which Tesla calls “Stability Assist Mode,” which it says allows drivers to “Customize your traction and control. Choose between Standard, Reduced or Off to give your vehicle more or less traction according to your driving style and terrain.”
This sounds like a performance tuning of the car’s stability control systems – stability control can apply brakes to individual wheels to help correct over/understeer, but can get in the way in performance driving applications.
There may be other performance-related options in there, but Tesla isn’t telling us about them yet – merely referring to them as “drive modes.”
While nobody has gotten their hands on the Model Y Performance for a driving review yet, the Model 3 Performance earned immediate rave reviews from most of those who drove it. It’s quite the performance package, and there’s pretty much nothing out there with the same sort of specs on offer for that price, gas or electric (though personally, I prefer rear-wheel drive cars and was a bit disappointed by the slightly slower steering rack post-Highland refresh).
So if the chunkier Model Y Performance can turn out similar dynamics as Tesla’s sport sedan, it will be interesting to see how it does against the likes of the Ioniq 5N and such.
As for whether or when we’ll get this model in the US: the Model Y Performance release is similar to how the Model 3 Highland and Model Y Juniper refreshes got released, each hitting Europe first before North America. However, the Model 3 Performance didn’t get the same treatment, so it’s interesting to see Europe getting the Performance Model Y first in this instance. We’ll have to see if a North American Model Y Performance release is imminent, or if it might take a few months like the Highland and Juniper did. Stay tuned.
The Model Y Performance will start shipping in September, and starts at €62k (~$73k) in Germany, with local prices varying from country to country but generally staying somewhere in that range. Head on over to Tesla’s site to check out prices in your territory (change regions/language in the upper-right of the website).
Electrek’s Take
Now here’s the question: can this help to reverse the negative momentum Tesla has in Europe?
Despite EV sales surging all across Europe, Tesla sales keep dropping, and the reason for the decline is almost entirely because of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is destroying Tesla’s brand and making it more difficult for Tesla to conduct business.
Sales are up in only a few European countries – like Norway, where we imagine this model will be plenty popular enough. And the Model Y Juniper refresh, released at the beginning of this year, hasn’t stopped the bleeding (in fact, the bleeding started right around when it was released in January… but that was probably less due to the car itself, and more due to Musk’s unambiguous Nazi salutes).
A new, whiz-bang, more expensive model will probably help with margins, and will allow some people to forget the tarnish that Musk has brought to Tesla’s reputation. It might even be the bump Tesla needs to turn around the quarter, which ends in a month, given Tesla said Performance Model Ys will be available before the end of September (where there will also likely be a sales boost in the US, due to the upcoming end of federal tax credits, an end which Musk himself stupidly enabled).
But generally, to stop a sales decline, you need to bring in base consumers, not the relatively fewer high-end ones. We very much doubt that the reason for Tesla’s decline over the last 7 months was because of the lack of a performance model – so this might help a bit, but the deeper issue is Tesla’s bad CEO.
Nevertheless, if you’re one of the ones who can look past Musk’s actions (I can’t), feel free to use our referral code.
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Chrysler parent company Stellantis is sinking billions on electric Jeeps and Chargers that no one wants, but the they’ve developed market-leading EVs in Europe, and this latest, £36,995 DS Automobiles No4 is exactly the sort of electric crossover that could rejuvenate the brand’s American prospects. The only question now is: why won’t they bring it here?
Both the Dodge and Jeep-branded Stellantis EVs are being offered with huge discounts in a bid to generate some kind of market interest, but the company’s American product and marketing teams seem to be deeply confused about what the market actually wants. Over in Europe, though, Stellantis’ EVs are hot sellers – and this latest five-passenger crossover from the company is expected to steal even more sales from the Model Y.
The new all-electric No4 E-Tense model from Stellantis’ French brand DS Automobiles will be offered at three trim levels starting with the Pallas at £36,995 (approx. $48K US), rising to £39,160 for the Pallas+ and topping out at £41,860 (approx. $56K US, before incentives get applied) for the range-topping Etoile.
All three trims use a front-mounted electric motor rated at 213 hp, drawing from a 58.3‑kWh battery pack. That setup delivers up to 280 miles on the WLTP cycle (about 240 miles by EPA estimates). That feels like a lot of miles from a relatively small battery, aided no doubt by the DS No4’s aerodynamic. Inside the No4’s sculpted flanks is enough room for five adults and a bunch of their stuff, as well as an incredibly sexy dash and infotainment layout that (in the official press photos, at least) seems positively slathered in Alcantara (think “vegan suede”).
With 120 kW fast charging capabilities, the No4’s battery pack can replenish from 20 to 80 percent in under 30 minutes. Thanks to built‑in V2L/V2X tech, the No4 can also supply power back to external devices.
Electrek’s Take
I think it would be a hit. As for why the marketing gurus at whatever’s left of the old Chrysler corporation seem to think an electric muscle car that no one asked for or a Dodge-branded Alfa Romeo that no one will ever ask for is a better use of their marketing dollars – that’s simply beyond me.
Maybe you guys know? Check out these photos of the new DS No4, then scroll on down to the comments and let us know what you think of Stellantis’ US product plans, and whether or not they messed up canceling the Airflow after all.
SOURCE | IMAGES: DS Automobiles.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment11 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024