Uber sells loss-making flying taxi division to Joby Aviation

Uber has sold its loss-making flying taxi division, Elevate, to a Californian startup as it abandons costly side projects in an attempt to turn a profit next year. The sale to Joby Aviation, announced late on Tuesday, comes a day after Uber ditched ambitions to develop its own self-driving car and sold its autonomous vehicle division, Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), to the startup Aurora Innovation for $4bn (£3bn). Uber and Joby described the Elevate sale as an "expanded partnership". It will result in Uber investing an additional $75m (£56m) in Joby. Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's chief executive, said: "Advanced air mobility has the potential to be exponentially positive for the environment and future generations. This deal allows us to deepen our partnership with Joby, the clear leader in this field, to accelerate the path to market for these technologies."