Can eVTOLs be Cost Competitive with Cars?

In the latest burst of indignant outrage that passes for news these days, a bunch of media outlets (of sorts) including Rolling Stone (huh?) jumped on a report by some obscure market data analytics company called Yard about the excessive use of private jets by celebrities. There were lots of statistics about carbon emissions, along with plenty of shaming. Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift topped the list by emitting more than 1,000 times the CO2 as the average person does in a year. If nothing else, it makes a useful introduction to today’s article about electric flying cars, also known as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Rather than spewing pollution and noise like planes and helicopters, eVTOLs are drone-like, battery-powered contraptions designed to disrupt city congestion by offering short hop routes within or between cities. ESG types are hyping the fact that these electric flying cars emit no emissions and much less noise pollution than their fossil fuel counterparts. Spend any time in major megalopolises like Los Angeles, where w