Why Is There a Cadillac In the Sky?
As a young boy, whenever my friends and I pondered about the future of technology, there was always one piece of technology we were most excited about — flying cars. To us, there was nothing cooler than getting in your car and flying around, we were probably watching too much Star Wars and Back to the Future.
On Tuesday, General Motors revealed a computer rendering of a Cadillac branded personal aircraft. Sleek and luxurious, the electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. The aircraft can travel up to speeds of roughly 56 mph and can hold one passenger. It is designed to travel between rooftops and other urban areas.
General Motors is not the only automotive company dipping their toes into the autonomous flying taxi business. Companies Toyota, Hyundai, Boeing, and Airbus are all looking to dash riders through the skies in these futuristic flying taxis.
Having a personal aircraft may seem like something only seen in movies and comic books, however, Morgan Stanley conducted a study and expects the autonomous urban aircraft market could be worth $1.5 trillion by 2040. Flying cars can potentially disrupt the urban mobility market, as riders could get in their personal aircrafts, take to the sky and leapfrog through traffic.
According to Morgan Stanley, the convergence of technologies, such as more efficient batteries, autonomous systems like drones and self-driving cars, and advanced manufacturing processes are pulling us closer to the reality of autonomous flying cars.
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.