Electric aircraft startup Lilium has run out of money
Electric aircraft startup Lilium is shutting down after failing to raise emergency money from the German government, according to a regulatory filing.
Electric aircraft startup Lilium is shutting down after failing to raise emergency money from the German government, according to a regulatory filing.
The filing comes after a series of setbacks from the German company that was once a darling in the nascent industry of electric aircraft. Lilium, which was developing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with speeds of up to 100 km/h, had raised more than $1 billion from investors before going public in 2021 on the Nasdaq Exchange via a reverse merger with a blank-check company, SPAC Qell.
Lilium had success landing a number of high-profile investors like Tencent and locking in customers, including an order for 100 electric jets from Saudi Arabia. And more recently it had powered up its first full-scale prototype. But the company was still years away from delivering its product.
In the meantime, it burned through cash and grappled with other challenges. In 2020, one of Lilium’s two prototypes burst into flames while maintenance was being carried out. While the model was close to being retired, Lilium paused testing on its the second, newer model until it could determine the cause of the accident with the first aircraft.
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