Reading view
Winter Storms Spark Travel Warnings for Millions of Americans
6-Year-Old's Innocent Question About Husbands Goes Viral
Mom Thinks She's Playing White Noise for Toddler, Then Realizes Her Mistake
Full List of Major Retailers That Shut Stores in 2024
$11 Billion Railway Linking Asian Countries Gets 2025 Green Light
US Citizen Imprisoned in Russia Receives New 15-Year Espionage Sentence
Opinion: Two Years On, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Are Still the Worst Best Pokémon Games Ever
Dog Found Abandoned Outside Facing Third Christmas Without A Forever Home
Hunter Biden China Photos Emerge After Joe Biden Pardons Son
Temperatures had dropped into the mid-20s the night the man was missing in…
Bu Meh was identified as the mother killed in the shocking murder-suicide
Heather is mom to son Tristan with husband Tarek El Moussa
The reality television star delivered holiday outfit inspo ahead of the Kar…
2024 Was the Year We Learned to Fear Nuclear Weapons Again
Russia, China, and the U.S. are all investing in nuclear weapons and an old fear from a bygone age is back in a big way.
Lamar Jackson says he’s going to watch Beyoncé’s halftime show during Ravens’ Christmas game
Astros GM’s revealing comments with Alex Bregman breakup all but certain
Shedeur Sanders chides Travis Hunter’s critics in pointed message as Leanna Lenee fallout grows
Flying taxi maker Lillium lays off 1,000 workers and ceases operations
Lilium, a company working on flying taxis that can take off and land vertically, has ceased operations. As TechCrunch notes, German media Gründerszene was the first publication to report that it laid off 1,000 workers a few days ago after it failed to secure more financing to continue its technology's development. Patrick Nathen, the company's co-founder, has announced that the company has stopped all operations on LinkedIn. Tagging his co-founders, he said that they can no longer continue working on their "shared belief in greener aviation," at least under Lilium.
The German company has been testing its VTOL electric air taxis for a while now. Its vehicle took off for the first time for its maiden flight back in 2017, and it completed its first phase of flight tests in 2019. Lilium was able to prove that its VTOL air taxis are capable of flying at speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour, though the Lilium Jet prototype it unveiled in 2019 was supposed to be able go as fast as 300 kmh and to have a range of 300 kilometers.
Lilium has been struggling financially over the past year, but its CEO reportedly remained optimistic about being able to secure enough funding as recently as last month. Gründerszene said that a small number of people will remain employed to help with liquidation. The company has yet to announce what will happen to its technology and the rest of its assets, but its patent attorney, Fabien Müller, wrote in a post that he's managing the transition of Lilium's intellectual property.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/flying-taxi-maker-lillium-lays-off-1000-workers-and-ceases-operations-160025593.html?src=rss