cover of episode Ep 114: Flying Cars Are About to Change the World — Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt

Ep 114: Flying Cars Are About to Change the World — Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt

2025/6/4
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JoeBen Bevirt
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专注于电动车和能源领域的播客主持人和内容创作者。
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主持人:飞行汽车通过电动垂直起降技术,能够显著缩短通勤时间,比直升机更安静,速度可达200英里/小时。空中出租车的价格与Uber Black相当,确保美国创新蓬勃发展至关重要,应该把时间花在解决重大问题上。Joby正在与特朗普政府密切合作,并已筹集数十亿美元,准备在迪拜和美国推出。Joe Ben认为飞行汽车将彻底改变人们的生活。 JoeBen Bevirt:作为Joby的CEO,我受到Peter Thiel的启发,Joby的目标是带来自汽车发明以来,人们日常出行方式的首次变革,这将极大地提高社会生产力。我们的飞行汽车可搭载四名乘客和一名飞行员,拥有六个旋翼,可以垂直起降,然后转换成高效的机翼飞行模式。Joby的飞行汽车比直升机更安静,并且在所有系统中都具有冗余,即使失去两个旋翼或电池也能安全飞行。从小就梦想制造飞行汽车,并为此获得了工程学位。在偏远地区长大,漫长的上学路激发了我制造飞行汽车的想法。现在的电池比32年前轻得多,能量密度也更高,实验室中的电池能量密度已高达500瓦时/公斤,原型电池甚至超过1000瓦时/公斤。目前测试的电池能量密度为300瓦时/公斤,如果达到1000瓦时/公斤,续航里程将增加两倍以上。氢的能量密度是目前电池的100倍,是航空燃料的3倍,对于需要长距离或长时间飞行的飞机来说,氢是颠覆性的。人们对氢的负面印象源于兴登堡飞艇灾难,但这种反应是错误的。兴登堡飞艇起火是因为飞艇外壳的织物燃烧,氢气因太轻而迅速对流,并没有爆炸。Joby的目标是改变每个人的出行方式,而不仅仅是富人的玩具,其愿景是让每个人都能负担得起。

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JoeBen Bevirt has spent two decades building electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and now he's on the cusp of commercial approval and rollout. Will flying cars be as transformational as the automobile? How will air taxis impact our cities and the way we live? And how did JoeBen achieve this feat of ingenuity?

This week we're joined by the Co-Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation), an American aviation company pioneering eVTOL aircraft for air taxi service. All-electric, virtually silent, and traveling up to 200mph with a pilot and four passengers, Joby is opening new possibilities in the skies above — starting at the price of an Uber Black. The implications for productivity and quality of life are massive, saving the average person an hour or two a day sitting in traffic and unlocking new swaths of land for development.

I'm proud that 8VC co-led Joby's first investment round about a decade ago, when many others, even flying enthusiasts, thought it was a pipedream. Since then, Joby has single-handedly shaped an entire new industry, from engineering breakthroughs to regulatory pathways, ensuring that American aviation stays ahead of China. Joby expects its first passenger rides in Dubai within a year and is working closely with the Trump administration as it nears the final stages of FAA approval. Inspired by SpaceX, Joby is vertically integrated and plans to aggressively ramp manufacturing here in the U.S., backed by a $500 million investment from Toyota (bringing Toyota's total investment near $900 million). While we await the first passenger flights, Joby is also building out its infrastructure nationwide — and they're looking for real estate and partners! You can contact JoeBen and the team here: [email protected])

00:00 Episode Intro

01:38 Flying cars are here

04:00 JoeBen's journey

05:48 Battery progress & hydrogen breakthroughs

08:50 Air taxi for the price of Uber Black

12:35 When will commercial flights start?

20:30 Why Joby is the industry leader

24:20 Why China is copying Joby

28:00 How air taxis will change your life

32:10 How Joby will transform real estate

35:45 Solving intractable problems 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)