Helicopter firm adds Blades from Tesla
Peter Blades joins emerging eVTOL company Skyryse, continuing the trend of designers shifting from automotive to aviation
The last couple of years has seen numerous car designers dabble in the burgeoning eVTOL space, either alongside their day job or moving away from automotive entirely. Julien Montousse, Thomas Vanichek, Frank Stephenson and Luc Donckerwolke are just a few prominent names that come to mind.
Ex Tesla designer Peter Blades is the next to take this path, joining Los Angeles-based Skyryse as VP of design. It shows how the underlying skills can transcend different modes of transportation, but also that some designers have an appetite to try something new after decades in the car game.
He will be working on the Skyryse One, a fly-by-wire helicopter that is operated using a single control stick and two touch screens, which was unveiled in February and is open for reservations now. “Joining Skyryse is a fantastic opportunity,” said Blades. “To again have the chance to match this type of transformative technology with a fresh and new perspective on design is an amazing and humbling opportunity.”
A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, Blades has plied his trade as an interior design specialist at brands including General Motors, Kia and Nissan before spending the better part of a decade at Tesla. He was a design lead for the Model Y, second-generation Roadster, Model 3 and electric Semi truck. He may also lean on his time at SpaceX where he worked on some proposals for the Dragon interior.
Blades will report directly to CEO Mark Groden, highlighting the key role that design will play in the overall organisation – although the management hierarchy of a start-up is somewhat different to that of an established car company, of course.
It will be interesting to see how Blades’ experience in the car industry dovetails with the goals of Skyryse, although the interior of the Skyryse One already feels distinctly car-like in its design.