Uber has sold off its Elevate flying taxi business, report says
The move comes as part of some belt-tightening from Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Uber Elevate, we hardly knew ye.
Uber is currently undergoing a phase in which it's trying to tighten its belt and get rid of money-losing and peripheral aspects of its business. That makes sense, given the difficulties that the ride-hailing industry is going through, thanks to COVID-19.
According to a report published Tuesday by Seeking Alpha, the latest division to get the axe is Uber Elevate. If that name isn't ringing any bells, that's because it's Uber's flying taxi play that never actually got off the ground -- pun very much intended. If it does sound familiar, it's because Uber hosted a couple of glitzy conferences called to bring attention to the nascent industry.
Interestingly, Uber isn't simply shutting down Uber Elevate. No, it actually found a buyer in Joby Avionics. What is Joby Avionics? Well, beyond it being a startup dedicated to producing small vertical-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft, we don't know. Joby is pretty secretive. We do know, though, that in addition to the sale, Uber is investing $75 million in Joby Avionics' program.
Does this sale mean that flying taxi services are on the horizon and that you should start dusting off all your Fifth Element cosplay gear? Probably not, but it will be interesting to see where this all goes.
Uber reps didn't immediately return Roadshow's request for comment.
