An Archer eVTOL. | Image: Archer
There’s a future where we don’t need roads and regular folks like you and me can jump into a boat-sized electric pod and just fly anywhere on a whim. While we’ve been perfecting the miracle of human flight for more than a century, instant air transportation has long been relegated to science fiction.
But in the last decade, many companies have stepped up to help get flying cars and air taxis out of the Hollywood movie magic bubble. Startups like Joby Aviation and Archer are building electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that can taxi several people around in the sky without burning nasty fuel. The air taxi dream is already passing some regulatory milestones: the FAA has now established rules.
Although these vehicles aren’t exactly the “flying cars” we’ve imagined, this is a rapidly growing new field with big established automakers like Toyota, Hyundai, Stellantis, and others either bankrolling their own ventures or one of the dozens of startups. And there’s a whole lot of drama and unpredictability in this new industry, from fighting over “stolen” patents to the companies that’ve failed to survive, like Lilium and the Larry Page-funded Kitty Hawk. Scroll down to read the latest on air taxis.
Electric flight startup Archer snags $300 million.
Palmer Luckey’s defense tech company will make next-gen military aircraft with Archer
Air New Zealand leases electric aircraft from Beta Technologies.
Archer Aviation gets another big order for its futuristic air taxis
Air taxi maker Lilium is out of money and may cease operations
Air taxis and other electric-powered aircraft cleared for takeoff with final FAA rules
Toyota puts another $500 million in an air taxi startup
Archer targets LA for air taxi service.
Lilium strikes sales deal with Saudi Arabia for up to 100 eVTOL aircraft
Southwest Airlines and Archer strike a deal for an electric air taxi network
Archer Aviation gets the green light to operate an electric air taxi service
Pilotless air taxis? Joby sees the possibility with new acquisition
Airtaxis get a boost from Congress.
Stellantis still believes in flying cars.
Joby signs a deal to launch air taxi service in Dubai by 2026.
Hyundai says its four-passenger eVTOL will be ready for 2028
Got $10 million? Then you’re probably someone who could afford this 30-rotor electric jet
China cracks open the door to flying taxis
Rival air taxi startups Wisk and Archer settle their trade secret theft lawsuit
Airbus is testing out autonomous flying tech in some of its planes
Stellantis will mass-produce Archer’s electric air taxi as part of $150 million deal
Boeing-backed Wisk Aero reveals a four-seater autonomous air taxi
Larry Page’s flying car startup Kitty Hawk is shutting down
United Airlines invests $15 million in electric aviation startup, orders 200 air taxis
Joby Aviation inches closer to getting full government approval for its electric air taxis
Boeing sinks more money into electric air taxi project it’s co-developing with Kitty Hawk
NASA’s tiny electrical aircraft is almost ready for lift-off
Honda is doubling down on rockets, robots, and flying cars
NASA is testing electric air taxis with Joby Aviation
Microsoft Flight Simulator’s next updates add electric air taxis and competitive multiplayer
Watch Joby Aviation’s electric air taxi complete a 150-mile flight
Judge rejects Wisk Aero’s effort to block rival air taxi startup Archer from using ‘stolen’ patents
Airspeeder says it had the first successful test flight for its electric flying racecar
Larry Page’s air taxi startup is buying former DJI rival 3D Robotics
Air taxi startup Archer shows off small electric aircraft but no flight test
Luminar’s LIDAR will take flight in new partnership with Airbus
Wisk Aero accuses rival flying taxi firm Archer Aviation of ‘brazen theft’ in a new lawsuit
Flying taxi startup Lilium goes public via SPAC, unveils its new electric aircraft
Joby Aviation is going public, reveals its electric aircraft in flight for the first time
GM surprises with autonomous Cadillac and flying car concepts
Uber reportedly will sell its flying taxi business to secretive startup Joby Aviation
Flying taxi startup Lilium will build a hub for its electric aircraft in Florida
Tesla’s second largest shareholder invests $35 million in air taxi startup Lilium
Kitty Hawk abandons its Flyer project, lays off dozens
Volocopter and Grab team up to explore air taxi service in Southeast Asia
Wisk strikes a deal to conduct a flying taxi trial in New Zealand
Toyota makes a big bet on secretive flying taxi startup Joby Aviation
Pilotless air taxi from China’s Ehang takes flight in the US for the first time
Hyundai will make flying cars for Uber’s air taxi service
Uber’s plan to launch an air taxi service in 2023 just got a boost from a secretive startup
Autonomous helicopter startup Skyryse demonstrates tech that could power urban air taxis
The flying taxi future is coming, but it’s elitist and underwhelming
Autonomous flying taxi startup Ehang files $100 million initial public offering
Lilium’s electric air taxi is finally actually flying in new video
Porsche teams up with Boeing to build flying cars for rich people
Flying taxi startup Volocopter raises $55 million in round led by Volvo parent Geely
Volocopter’s air taxi performs a test flight at Helsinki Airport
Larry Page-backed Kitty Hawk partners with Boeing on flying car development
Uber’s air taxis will resemble really nice helicopters on the inside
Electric air taxi startup Lilium completes first test of its new five-seater aircraft
Boeing’s experimental autonomous aircraft completes its first test flight
Bell’s hybrid-electric flying car will be available via Uber by the ‘mid-2020s’
Vertical Aerospace makes ‘flying cars’ with more grounded aspirations
Uber narrows its search for international city to host ‘flying taxis’
Electric flight is coming, but the batteries aren’t ready
Larry Page is quietly amassing a ‘flying car’ empire
The Kitty Hawk Flyer is your own personal electric aircraft
Uber to open Advanced Technologies Center in Paris focused on flying taxis
Uber CEO: our future won’t just be cars
Uber’s ‘flying taxis’ will be built by these five aerospace companies
Uber reveals its latest ‘flying car’ prototype for aerial taxi service
Volocopter envisions ‘air taxi’ stations that can handle 10,000 passengers a day
Larry Page’s flying taxis approach regulatory approval in New Zealand
The PAL-V Liberty claims to be the first commercially available flying car
People are still trying to make cars that morph into helicopters
Airbus’ ‘flying taxi’ isn’t much to look at, but it’s a major step toward electric flight
Airbus’ autonomous ‘air taxi’ Vahana completes its first test flight
Secretive air taxi startup Joby Aviation raises $100 million
Boeing built a giant drone that can carry 500 pounds of cargo
Bell Helicopter offers a sneak peek of its first electric flying taxi
Uber hires Tesla’s lead battery expert to help power its ‘flying car’ service
Flying cars don’t exist yet, but one company already wants to race them in the desert
Volvo’s parent company just bought a ‘flying car’ startup
Airbus will test its Vahana electric ‘flying car’ by the end of 2017
The company that makes AK-47s just built a working hoverbike
Dubai starts testing crewless two-person ‘flying taxis’
Lilium receives $90 million to build electric flying taxi
You can now buy the Moller Skycar, one of the world’s most iconic (and dubious) ‘flying cars’
This is the first footage of Larry Page’s ‘flying car’
We’re going to Uber’s ‘flying car’ event in Texas this week
This ‘flying car’ could be buzzing between rooftops by 2022
Airbus’ new concept is a car, a drone, and a train all in one
Uber hires NASA veteran to help it figure out flying cars
Of course Uber is working on a flying car project
Airbus has a secret flying-car project called Vahana
Google co-founder Larry Page is secretly building flying cars
AeroMobil hopes to launch its flying car in 2017, and a self-flying car after that
