Are you ready to get on board with the electric vehicle takeoff and landing industry? If you’re bullish about air taxis, it’s fine to own Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) stock. However, there’s another air-taxi stock you can buy instead of, or besides, shares of Joby Aviation.
I’ve recommended investing in Joby Aviation, and I’ll stand by that recommendation today. However, in light of a big risk that Joby Aviation is taking, it’s wise to diversify your stock holdings in the eVTOL industry. So, let’s delve into the details and learn about the recent debate in the air-taxi market.
Joby Aviation and a Rival Strike Similar Deals
Joby Aviation has several value-added deals in place. For example, the company is partnering with Clay Lacy Aviation to install the first electric air-taxi charger in Southern California, at John Wayne Airport.
Also, Joby Aviation and its Japanese airline partner, ANA Holdings (OTCMKTS:ALNPY), announced a deal with Nomura Real Estate Development to design and build eVTOL “vertiports” (which are like airports for air taxis) in Japan.
Joby Aviation is collaborating with Atlantic Aviation to build eVTOL infrastructure, presumably including charging infrastructure for air taxis. However, Joby Aviation’s competitor, Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR), struck a very similar eVTOL infrastructure development deal with Atlantic Aviation.
If you want to see how similar the two deals with Atlantic Aviation are, check out William White’s excellent article on this topic.
They’re similar in some ways, but there’s also a big difference between Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation. They’re advancing two different eVTOL charging systems, and this may be cause for concern among JOBY stock investors.
Why JOBY Stock Is Risky Now
Here’s the rundown. Archer Aviation is advancing the Combined Charging System. This charging standard was “recently endorsed by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association” Plus, it’s already being used by “several top original equipment manufacturers cross the industry.”
That’s an advantage for Archer Aviation. In contrast, Joby Aviation is advancing its proprietary, “Joby-developed” Global Electric Aviation Charging System. Regarding this, Joby Aviation assured last year that it’s “working with numerous electric aircraft developers to ensure interoperability.”
This reminds me of what’s happening in the electric vehicle EV industry. Sooner or later, rival EV manufacturers such as Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) will probably end up adopting Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) EV charging standard, if they haven’t done so already.
Yet, Joby Aviation is evidently pushing its own, non-standard eVTOL charging system. Does Joby Aviation think it’s the Tesla of air-taxi companies? The company is taking a big risk by spending time, money and effort on its “Joby developed” charging system. So, investors really need to think about whether this gambit will pay off in the long run.
Consider ACHR Stock With, or Instead of, JOBY Stock
Joby Aviation is still an interesting and ambitious eVTOL industry player. However, the company is taking a major risk with GEACS. Therefore, you might want to invest in Archer Aviation instead of Joby Aviation.
On the other hand, Joby’s GEACS may end up being a huge success. Consequently, you could diversify your holdings by owning both ACHR stock and JOBY stock. Still, I would own more Archer shares than Joby shares, since the fate of GEACS remains uncertain.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.