Beta wrapped its first test flights in the U.S. government's pilot program. The company flies electric air taxis. They want FAA certification so they can carry passengers who apparently looked at regular taxis and thought, "Not enough ways to die today."
Several companies race to get certified first. They compete to see who can burn through venture capital fastest while building vehicles that solve a problem nobody has. Traffic exists. We know this. The solution involves sitting in traffic but three hundred feet higher where a software glitch turns you into a lawn dart.
The FAA will decide if these things are safe. The same agency that certified the 737 MAX will now evaluate flying cars. This should comfort you. It does not comfort you. You're correct to feel that way.
Beta completed government test flights, which means federal employees climbed into an experimental aircraft powered by batteries. Someone in procurement signed off on this. That person has tenure and cannot be fired. Remember this the next time you complain about your job.
Retail traders will buy Beta stock the moment it goes public. They'll post rocket emojis and claim they're early to "the future of transportation." They'll ignore that helicopters already exist and that rich people who want to skip traffic already own helicopters. They'll lose money anyway because that's what they do. It's their most consistent skill.
The pilot program exists to test these aircraft in real conditions. Real conditions include birds, weather, and other aircraft piloted by humans who trained for years. Beta's air taxi will share airspace with all of them. The skies will be safer once we add rideshare dynamics to aviation.
Flying taxis represent humanity's commitment to solving problems we don't have while ignoring problems we do. We can't fix potholes but we're building flying cars. This makes perfect sense if you've suffered a head injury.
Photo by Thierry Biland on Unsplash
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