Hyundai’s Supernal halts eVTOL work after CEO and CTO quit

Hyundai’s electric air taxi subsidiary Supernal has paused development of its aircraft programme following the departures of its chief executive and chief technology officer, the Orange County Register first reported.

Two people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch the startup has stopped flight testing after a turbulent period that included staff reductions and the resignation of CEO Jaiwon Shin, who stepped down last week. CTO David McBride has also left the company, according to the same sources. Supernal has not confirmed his departure publicly.

The shake-up leaves Hyundai’s most visible bet on the emerging electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) sector in flux. Supernal was spun out of Hyundai in 2021 with plans to begin commercial services in 2028. Earlier this year, it staged the first test flight of its technology demonstrator, followed by limited subsequent trials. The company had yet to complete its first untethered flight before work was paused.

Supernal said in a statement to TechCrunch that “newly appointed leadership will assess and determine the optimal timeline moving forward” for commercial launch. It declined to comment on McBride’s departure.

The restructuring comes after months of disruption. In late 2024 the company closed its Washington, D.C. headquarters less than two years after opening it, TechCrunch previously reported. This summer, it laid off dozens of staff before announcing the leadership changes.

In the interim, business development director David Rottblatt has been appointed to oversee operations as acting chief operating officer. Hyundai said it intends to appoint “new leadership with deep expertise in business operations” to steer its Urban Air Mobility ambitions through the next phase of development.

The turmoil reflects wider instability across the nascent eVTOL industry. Toyota-backed Joby has continued to raise funds and sign partnerships, while Germany’s Lilium collapsed earlier this year after failing to secure sufficient capital, Reuters reported. Analysts argue that despite billions of dollars of investment, certification, safety and commercialisation hurdles remain high for electric aviation startups.

Shin, a former NASA official who joined Hyundai in 2019, was the public face of the venture. At the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show he showcased a full-scale mock-up of a future eVTOL aircraft and said the company was close to “pushing the limits of the technology with the demonstrator.” In August 2024, McBride told Vertical Magazine that the first flight would “validate our ability to build an aircraft” ahead of the planned 2028 launch.

Hyundai’s aerospace ambitions are now being reassessed against the backdrop of other setbacks. Last year its autonomous vehicle venture Motional, originally a joint project with Aptiv, underwent a major restructuring after Aptiv withdrew funding. That move triggered layoffs of around 40% of staff and the eventual departure of CEO Karl Iagnemma, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.

For employees at Supernal, the pause injects fresh uncertainty into an already challenging sector. While Hyundai has pledged to appoint new leadership and maintain its long-term vision for urban air mobility, it has not provided updated timelines or reassurances about the scale of future operations.

The next steps will be closely watched by regulators, investors and rivals alike. With competitors such as Joby, Archer and Vertical Aerospace pressing ahead, Hyundai faces the task of proving it can still deliver on its promise of bringing electric air taxis to market by the end of the decade.