Dennis Muilenburg, the former CEO of the aerospace giant Boeing who was ousted last year following the Boeing 737 Max scandal, has found a new business role as an advisor and investor in Monarch Tractor, a California-based startup that’s working on a fully electric, self-driving tractor for farmers.

Muilenburg has been announced as an investor and advisor to the startup, the exact size of his investment not disclosed. He’ll help guide Monarch Tractor’s ambitions with his experience as both the former CEO of one of the world’s largest aerospace companies as well as a former board member at the construction machinery and equipment giant Caterpillar.

Monarch Tractor has come up with an electric, autonomous tractor for farmers that it says will begin shipping next year. Costing $50,000 in full, the company is already taking refundable reservations of $500. 

Photo credit: Monarch

Monarch is a 35-employee startup that’s taking on something ambitious. Selling electric and autonomous tractors to farmers may prove difficult for an industry that’s long used to traditional processes. More so, a $50,000 mid-sized tractor doesn’t sound cheap. 

On the other hand, Monarch may be onto something very lucrative, as more people look to adopt climate-friendly farming processes to decrease pollution. It’s said that traditional diesel tractors produce roughly 14 times the emissions as an average car and Monarch is looking to stop that.

Monarch bills its tractor as a ‘3-in-1 electrification tool’ that operates both as a tractor, a farm ATV with extra storage acts, and as a generator in the field. It features an electric drivetrain that’s capable of delivering 40HP (30KW) of continuous power and short duration peak power of up to 70HP (55KW) for multi-purpose usage, Monarch claims.

Monarch says its tractor will be equipped with a software suite that’s capable of collecting and analyzing over 240GB of crop data every day as it operates in the field. Being autonomous, it’s kit with safety features including 360° cameras to keep track of its environment and avoid accidents.

Monarch represents another play for Muilenburg, who was ousted from Boeing last year after a major scandal at the company pertaining to the development of its Boeing 737 Max plane that recorded a high number of accidents. Taking a $62 million severance package on the way out, Muilenburg founded a consulting business that has courted about a dozen clients including Monarch.

With a 35-year experience culminating in a rise to the number one leadership position at Boeing, Muilenburg likely has much to offer to guide Monarch’s ambitions.

Photo credit: Hawaii Air National Guard, licensed under CC BY 2.0

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