Jason saw potential after saying no to Vertical’s equity pitch

Jason Mudrick, the Wall Street investor known for jumping into bankrupt brick-and-mortar stocks during the meme-trade chaos, is now backing flying taxis. The billionaire hedge fund manager said that after Donald Trump signed a new executive order supporting US aerospace, the idea of flying aircraft for cities suddenly “sort of became real.”

Jason is now the top shareholder of Vertical Aerospace, a struggling British company that wants to launch an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft—called the VX4—by 2028.

The VX4 is designed to carry six people and fly up to 100 miles on a battery, which the company says could get someone from Manhattan to the Hamptons in under an hour. Jason took control of the firm late last year after forcing out founder Stephen Fitzpatrick and converting $130 million of debt into equity.

The company had crashed to just $82 million in value after its post-SPAC price collapse. “Vertical wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t come up with the idea,” Jason said. “But at the end of the day, what the company needs now are not skills that he possesses.”

Jason saw potential after saying no to Vertical’s equity pitch

Jason’s involvement started in 2021. After walking away from meme stock profits that brought in around $250 million, he wanted to refocus his fund on its roots: lending to distressed businesses. But after a quiet pitch from Vertical’s chairman, Dómhnal Slattery, Jason passed on buying equity. He wasn’t interested.

Weeks later, Slattery returned with another offer: what about debt? That’s what got Jason moving. He had just been through online drama from Reddit traders after profiting from AMC and GameStop trades. People vandalized his firm’s Wikipedia page with insults.

He ignored the noise and looked into flying taxis. The logic was simple—global cities are overcrowded, tunneling is expensive, and road expansions are almost impossible. As Jason put it, “You’ve got to go up.”

Vertical was already far behind its US competitors. While companies like Archer, Beta Technologies, and Joby Aviation were pulling in investors like Amazon, Toyota, United Airlines, and Delta, Vertical was still raising money to survive. It secured $90 million in January but is going to need more soon. CEO Stuart Simpson confirmed the firm needs multiple new fundraising rounds to complete the $1 billion certification process for VX4.

Joby wants to operate its own flying taxi service. Archer shared flight plans for New York and Los Angeles, and Beta already flew passengers in test flights while building 50 charging stations across 22 states.

Meanwhile, Joby is working to launch a service in Dubai this year. Together, they’ve raised $1.4 billion in the last 12 months. Jason’s firm is playing catch-up.

Vertical’s plan is to sell the aircraft, not operate them

Vertical doesn’t want to be an Uber-in-the-sky. Jason’s model is to sell aircraft the way Airbus and Boeing do. Each sale then locks in contracts for servicing and battery replacements every year. That’s where the long-term money is. Simpson told Wall Street Journal that if all goes well, they’ll start delivering aircraft in 2028, assuming they meet strict European safety rules.

Jason’s rivals say they’ll start flying passengers in the US in 2025 or 2026, but he called that “too optimistic.” He believes the VX4 will come a bit later but could stand out by being the only one to meet EU certification. Still, that’s not enough to guarantee success.

“This is one of those bets that you make, and if it works, it’s one you’ll talk about for the next 20 years,” Jason told WSJ.

Cryptopolitan Academy: Tired of market swings? Learn how DeFi can help you build steady passive income. Register Now