What Makes eVTOL Motors Different Than EV Motors?

Electric vehicles, whether they’re cars on the road or electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, are built around similar electric motors. But there are vital differences including component costs, mass, and redundancy.Jon Wagner spent five years as the senior director of battery engineering for Tesla before joining California-based eVTOL developer Joby Aviation in 2017. He spoke with IEEE Spectrum about how engineering differs between cars and aircraft.​Jon Wagner Jon Wagner leads power train and electronics at Joby Aviation.How do eVTOL motors differ from car motors?Jon Wagner: In general, ground transportation has a different focus on cost versus mass. You know, would you be willing to spend more on the parts in order to save a certain amount of mass? The trade-offs end on the ground vehicle and at a certain point the cost is dominant, whereas with aviation, the trade-offs between cost and mass go a lot deeper. And so for certain solutions eVTOL makers are willi