TL;DR
The flying car of the old magazine covers has arrived in a more practical shape: a quiet electric aircraft that lifts straight up from a pad, crosses a bay in minutes and lands on the other side. Archer just flew one from Oakland to San Francisco in about 10 minutes, a trip that can take more than an hour by car. In China, a company already sells certified pilotless passenger drones. What nobody can do yet in the U.S. is buy a ticket. No American air taxi holds the FAA certificate it needs to carry paying passengers, and in China, paid rides are on hold after regulators turned cautious. If the paperwork clears, the first paid hops over traffic in American cities could come within a few years, starting with piloted commuter routes between fixed pads.
Below the line, for paid subscribers: The full story: where it stands, how we got here and what's dated next; our Odds board on 5 milestones, starting with "Joby or Archer receives an FAA type certificate by 2026"; and every source.