Experts Say a True Flying Car Is Far Off Despite Tesla Roadster Demo; eVTOLs Closer but Costly

Tesla demonstrated a "flying" version of its new Roadster earlier this month, and experts told CNN the demo does not mean a true flying car is close. A car that can travel safely on roads and highways while also flying significant distances remains far off. The Roadster used compressed air jets to leap over other cars and propel off a ramp six or seven stories high, but it did not fly any appreciable distance. It landed short of the 120 feet the Wright Brothers achieved at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Tesla's site states the test model is not approved for public road use, and no flying version will be for sale until at least 2028.

Closer to reality are electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs). They operate at relatively low altitudes and cover roughly the distance of most car trips. They are very lightweight, have limited carrying capacity and can generally fly up to about 100 miles at a time. They cannot travel on highways, and some have no wheels. Many companies are developing them and a few already sell aircraft. Pivotal says it builds aircraft, not flying cars. Israeli company Air plans to build eVTOLs at a facility in Florida.

California start-up Alef says it is developing a true flying car. Its "Model A" weighs 254 pounds, has a top speed of about 55 mph, uses eight propellers inside its body to fly and has four wheels for driving. It carries one person weighing less than the empty vehicle and lacks standard safety equipment such as airbags.

Roger Connor, curator of the vertical flight collection at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, said a hybrid of aircraft and car would perform poorly as both, since aircraft are weight-sensitive while cars need heavy equipment. The Federal Aviation Administration launched a series of eVTOL testing programs across 26 states in March and is investigating who will be allowed to fly them. Training is expected to take far less than for small planes or helicopters, perhaps a few days. No one has yet been licensed in these new aircraft categories, Connor said.

Very few eVTOLs have been delivered to customers, and they are expensive. Larger "air taxis" carrying a handful of passengers will cost more than $1 million each, while personal two-seat aircraft cost from $60,000 to $400,000. Connor described a $60,000 aircraft as essentially a fancy drone carrying about 160 pounds for perhaps 10 minutes.

The Tesla demo and the eVTOL market are often discussed together, but the engineering constraints pull in opposite directions. Aircraft reward low weight; road vehicles require heavy crash structures, safety equipment and drivetrains. Connor's point that a hybrid would be mediocre at both explains why the lightest products closest to market, such as the Alef Model A, give up the equipment that makes a car roadworthy, while eVTOLs drop the highway altogether.

For commercial aviation, the eVTOL path is the one with a regulatory process already moving. The FAA's testing programs across 26 states and its open review of who may fly these aircraft are the steps that will shape how an early market operates. Pilot training expected to run a few days rather than the months required for small planes or helicopters would lower the barrier to entry for operators, though no one holds a licence in these categories yet.

The economics remain the constraint. Price points from $60,000 for a short-endurance personal aircraft to more than $1 million for a multi-passenger air taxi, combined with roughly 100 miles of range, define a narrow set of early uses. The FAA's licensing decisions on who may fly these aircraft and the first customer deliveries at scale are the milestones that would show whether that picture changes.