Uber in talks to sell flying taxis unit

Uber is in talks to sell its Uber ­Elevate flying taxi business in a deal that could be announced as early as this week.

Eric Allison (L), Head of Uber Elevate, and Jaiwon Shin, Head of Urban Air Mobility at Hyundai, at the Hundai news event where Hyundai announced it's partnership with Uber to create an air taxi network in January. Picture: AFP

Uber is in talks to sell its Uber ­Elevate flying taxi business to California-based electric aircraft maker Joby Aviation, in a deal that could be announced as early as this week.

The sale marks a sharp pivot from the ride-sharing giant’s sky-high plans, first detailed in 2016, that featured Melbourne as the program’s first international city. Uber had promised a 19km journey from the CBD to Melbourne airport would take just 10 minutes, compared to up to an hour by car.

US news site Axios reported on Thursday that Uber was in talks with Santa Cruz outfit Joby Aviation to sell its Elevate unit, with a deal to be announced this month. The Australian understands a sale could be announced as early this week.

A source with knowledge of the discussions confirmed the news, despite Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi telling The Australian only last week that it was pushing ahead its flying taxi program.

“Unfortunately, COVID-19 has put a pause on all of these kinds of incredibly exciting and innovative features that we want to build on our platform,” Mr Khosrowshahi said last week.

“I do think that Elevate and vertical takeoff and landing vehicles are going to be a part of our future. And we’re going to continue to look to partner up with lots of players out there to make these vehicles a reality.

“And we’d love for Melbourne to be a part of it.”

An Uber spokesman declined to comment on the reported deal and how it might affect the company’s Uber Elevate program in Melbourne.

Uber’s plans had involved a network of rooftop “skyports” across cities, with Dallas, Los Angeles and Melbourne signed on as pilot ­muni­cipalities. The company had signed partnerships with Hyundai, Boeing, Bell, Embraer, Joby Aviation, Pipistrel Aircraft, Karem Aircraft and Jaunt Air Mobility that would help build the aircraft, but had yet to receive regulatory approvals in Melbourne.

The Australian first reported in June that Uber’s plans for its Elevate program were unravelling, with no plans submitted to regulatory authorities and no infrastructure built to support a trial, a year after Uber announced the mobility option would come to Melbourne.

Uber’s growth this year has been hit hard by the pandemic. In May it slashed almost a quarter of its workforce.

Joby Aviation did not respond to a request for comment.

Additional reporting: Chris Griffith.