Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Are engineers working on flying cars for personal use?

Thursday, February 18, 2021

By Lauralei Singsank

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YES

In August 2020, a company named SkyDrive made “the first public demonstration of a flying car in Japan”—an electric vehicle with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. The pilot of the one-seater flew at about 10 feet off the ground for about four minutes.

With support from the Japanese government, SkyDrive's CEO expects to commercialize a two-seat version by 2023. Morgan Stanley researchers project that “urban aircraft” will be common by 2040 and could create a $1.5 trillion market.

Currently, safety is the biggest issue with flying cars. Vehicles need to be designed to carry significant weight while remaining quiet enough to fly at low altitudes. Flying vehicles are unlikely to replace cars anytime soon, as they’ll be significantly less energy efficient and therefore much more expensive.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

SkyDrive: Successful flying test

Japan Times: SkyDrive plans to launch flying cars in three years

Morgan Stanley: Autonomous aircraft

New York Times: Japanese flying car

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.