You're wrong on a bunch of points. They've been doing wind tunnel testing of scale models for a while, and they have a wealth of experience from hiring SpaceX, Boeing, Scaled Composites etc. veterans. This is a team with vastly more commercial aerospace engineering engineering than you devoting their time to this project. They're well aware of the regulatory environment, costs, and usual timelines.
Existing companies don't try anything radically new because of risk aversion, corporate inertia, whatever you want to call it. Why didn't NYC YellowCab invent Uber? They've been doing their thing for years and it's been working just fine. Sometimes you need an outsider to take a radical risk, that in all odds will likely fail, but every so often doesn't.
The article we’re commenting on specifically says they’ve started assembling a 1/3rd scale model that they hope to fly this year.
I disagree with the rest of your comment, but I see where you’re coming from. But almost every failed aerospace company has a bunch of people with industry experience. Doesn’t stop nearly all of them from crashing and burning. And even the unicorn that succeeds is very late and way over budget.
Existing companies don't try anything radically new because of risk aversion, corporate inertia, whatever you want to call it. Why didn't NYC YellowCab invent Uber? They've been doing their thing for years and it's been working just fine. Sometimes you need an outsider to take a radical risk, that in all odds will likely fail, but every so often doesn't.