Aeronautics startup Jetson has completed the first sale and delivery of its Jetson One eVTOL aircraft to American entrepreneur and VR developer Palmer Luckey, kickstarting what's sure to be a successful future for the company.
eVTOLs, or electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, are the next major chapter in sustainable air travel. Equipped with large onboard batteries, these aircraft are propelled by electric motors as they perform entirely vertical takeoffs and landings and glide almost soundlessly through the air. Some can even reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.
Upon delivery in Carlsbad, California, Luckey underwent a brief ground-school lesson and took to the skies within the hour. At 250 pounds, the Jetson One is considered "ultralight" and purely recreational, and Luckey needed no pilot's license to get started with what DroneXL termed the "jet ski of the sky."
According to the publication, this feat of minimalist engineering runs on eight electrical motors powered by the energy stored in its removable batteries — enough to sustain a casual flight of roughly 20 minutes.
Luckey's new Jetson One went for $128,000 as one of the exclusive "Founders Edition" models, and embracing such a big name as the eVTOL's first customer is showcasing to the world the legitimacy of Jetson's ongoing project.
The popularization of eVTOLs and other self-flying vehicles may help reduce the need for road infrastructure and reduce the number of gas-based cars on our streets.
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Swapping combustion engines for electric motors can significantly reduce tailpipe carbon pollution during daily commutes, thereby keeping planet-heating gases out of the atmosphere and minimizing contributions to a region's smog levels and respiratory concerns.
Moreover, while eVTOLs aren't exactly mainstream at this point in history, drivers with electric vehicle experience have lauded the easy maintenance and lack of fuel costs as major benefits to going electric — benefits which, along with shorter commute times, are sure to carry over to electric flying.
Jetson, now focusing its operations in California after being founded in Poland and moving to Sweden and Italy, closed its first transaction and delivery in early September, according to DroneXL, and now has enough orders to keep the eVTOLs coming until at least the year 2027.
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