, Columnist
Electric Flying Cars Are Just Dirty Old Helicopters, Rebranded
The promises sound too good to be true — and they are. These new vehicles will do little more than ferry the elite, burning carbon and causing noise pollution as they do.
It’s not the breakthrough you think it is.
Photographer: Jason Alden/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The Jetsons are back, and they’re looking green.
Electric flying taxis were the toast of the Singapore Airshow last week. AirAsia and and a unit of Embraer SA announced deals for nearly 200 of the futuristic vehicles, which haven’t made it beyond prototype stage yet. Such eVTOL vehicles — short for electric vertical take off and landing — have seen an explosion of interest in recent years, with some $12.8 billion invested in the field since 2010, according to McKinsey & Co.