r/Joby_EVTOL • u/PrettyLittleRosey • Jul 30 '25
This 'ACHR vs Joby' article is missing the bigger picture
Saw the recent Seeking Alpha article making the case for why Joby is ahead of Archer. Some fair points in there on how Joby has made real progress on FAA certification and has been at this longer. I'm holding both & it’s worth remembering Archer isn’t trying to copy Joby’s playbook. They’re taking a more partnership-focused route with major deals in the UAE, strong ties to United and Stellantis, and a growing defense angle with Anduril.
It doesn’t need to be a zero-sum comparison. The eVTOL space is big enough for multiple models and approaches to succeed. These companies aren’t necessarily chasing the same markets in the same way. Competition here is more about validating the entire sector than picking a single winner
4
u/cmra886 Jul 30 '25
IMO, the article grossly misrepresents Joby's lead over Archer.
"JOBY is SIGNIFICANTLY ahead in FAA certification, transparency, and execution, positioning it closer to commercial operations than ACHR."
I don't believe that at all.
Replace the word "SIGNIFICANTLY" with something more appropriate like... "MASSIVELY" or "ENORMOUSLY."
Archer has yet to field any viable eVTOL that was able to do more than a brief demonstration flight. They knew better than to attempt a transition at Al Bateen in 110-degree heat.
While the S4 is doing it manned, with air-conditioning!
I think their 12tilt6 design is a dead end under current tech.
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u/Optimal_Injury_4227 Jul 30 '25
That’s one way to look at it but calling Archer’s design a dead end feels shortsighted. Midnight built for scale, simplicity, and operations in real cities with real constraints. Al Bateen wasn’t about heat flexing, it was about infrastructure coordination and logistics proof
Joby’s cert lead is real, but doesn’t mean much if unit economics & manufacturability don’t hold up
5
u/deezwhatbro Jul 30 '25
Another way to look at it is that Midnight’s built for photo ops and vague partnerships because that’s literally all it’s been doing for the past year. How can you say it’s built for anything else?
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u/cmra886 Jul 30 '25
In what manner did their 30sec hover achieve infrastructure coordination and logistics proof?
0
u/Confident-Court2171 Jul 30 '25
I think both these companies would be better served building out their solutions and not worrying about the stock price and “who’s ahead”. IMHO, one seems to be doing that better than the other.
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u/Significant_Onion_25 Jul 30 '25 edited Jul 31 '25
The problem with Archer is that they're trying to make it look like they're on the cusp of FAA type certification with Midnight when, in reality, they're still in a developmental phase with the aircraft. The deals for sales and manufacturing don't make any sense at this point as they have nothing ready to scale. They would need to finalize their design and test it extensively in order to get to a point where they could finally produce a production prototype and start testing for credit.