Life is amazing in 2023 — we have tiny computers with amazing cameras in our pockets; massive, dirt-cheap TVs; cars that drive themselves — but where are our flying cars and jet packs? The flying cars are at least in China, or that’s where they’ll get their first real commercial flights, anyway. EHang Holdings said last week that the government there issued it a certification to start actual passenger trials in the country.
The autonomous, battery-powered air taxi looks like a giant, remote-controlled drone, only it can carry two people through the air for short destinations. Bloomberg’s report says that, according to EHang, the EH216-S can fly for 25 minutes at about 62mph. The company did not disclose how much its tours will cost. The company demonstrated a version of its flying taxi in the US back in 2020, flying about 100 people in Raleigh, North Carolina.