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Flying car company terrafugia is bought by china's geely

Scott Beale Aviation
Scott Beale Aviation

The document summarizes the acquisition of flying car company Terrafugia by Chinese automaker Geely. Key points: - Terrafugia has long promised a flying car by 2019, but has missed many deadlines. Geely's acquisition may finally provide enough funding to meet this latest deadline. - Many companies are pursuing the dream of flying cars, but autonomous air taxis planned for 2017 did not materialize as expected. Making safe, profitable personal aircraft remains very challenging. - While flying cars have little consumer appeal, companies may be pursuing the technology to master skills like robotics that could benefit future vehicles and transportation. Geely's acquisition may aim to develop self-driving car expertise

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3/22/2018 Flying-Car Company Terrafugia is Bought by China's Geely - IEEE Spectrum https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/aerospace/aviation/flyingcar-company-terrafugia-is-bought-by-chinas-geely 1/3 14 Nov 2017 | 18:30 GMT Flying-Car Company Terrafugia is Bought by China's Geely With real money behind its project, maybe Terrafugia will finally hit its latest deadline, in 2019. But it'll probably lose money anyway By Philip E. Ross (/author/ross-philip-e) Photo: Terrafugia We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters," wrote tech billionaire Peter Thiel, Well, Twitter is now going to allow in a tweet, and soonwe are toldwe will finally get a flying car. in 2011. (http://www.businessinsider.com/fo unders-fund-the-future-2011-7) 280 characters (https://www.washingtonpost.com/n ews/the- switch/wp/2017/11/07/twitter-is- officially-doubling-the-character- limit-to-280/? utm_term=.a4b393b75de9) Terrafugia, which in 2006 became one of the very first of a new crop of flying-car companies, says it will have one in 2019. And though that is only the latest in a long string of deadlines the company has set, perhapsPerhaps!this will be the first one that it honors. Reason: The company has just been acquired for an undisclosed sum by Geely, the Chinese automotive company that owns Volvo. The R&D funds should flow profusely. A lot of companies from around the world are chasing the same dreamamong them Toyota, Googles Larry Page, Germanys eVolo, and Chinas EHang. Vahana, a subsidiary of Airbus, was supposed to test- fly a prototype this year, as , but here we are in November with no air taxi. I am not shocked, that this is the case; in this business, deadlines are aspirational. I wrote back in January (/aerospace/aviation/autonomous-air-taxis-will- take-off-in-2017-but-wont-go-far) Whats more, the Vahana craft was supposed to be autonomous. That makes sense, even if its devilishly hard to manage. Theres just no other way to make money off a battery-powered plane that can ferry a mere one or two passengers at a time. Terrafugia has dreams of autonomy as well, in the shape of its TF-X model, but the company has put its deadline a good seven or eight years further out. Not including a fudge factor.
3/22/2018 Flying-Car Company Terrafugia is Bought by China's Geely - IEEE Spectrum https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/aerospace/aviation/flyingcar-company-terrafugia-is-bought-by-chinas-geely 2/3 Okay, so it may seem were beating up on a futuristic company that dares to dream big. But and Terrafugia go back a long way, like an old married couple. Weve been grousing about why we consider Terrafugias unreasonable ever since back in 2007. IEEE Spectrum ambitions we first labeled the company a loser, (/aerospace/aviation/loser-grounded) Photo: Terrafugia The reasons for our skepticism havent changed. Making a car into a plane is really just a way of making a plane that can kinda, sorta move down a road without knocking off the heads of parking meters. Such roadable planes have absolutely no appeal as a car. Indeed, the same can be said of those crazy cars that were supposed to float like boats or even submerge like submarines. No, seriously! Take a look at the that sent James Bond diving deep, in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Lotus Esprit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_ Nellie) One thing has changed, though. Today theres a lot of serious money behind the flying-car dreams, and the question is why. It could be sheer personal enthusiasm. For instance, Billionaire Larry Page is putting his own money into his secretive . Maybe there just wasnt a good enough business case for Google to back it with corporate funds. flying-car project (http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2017/04/24/kitty-hawk-flying- car-jetski-google-larry-page.cnnmoney/index.html) Then theres the tech-demo argument. Doing hard things on a small scale may be a good way to master robotics, sensor fusion, and other skills that will come in handy in self-driving cars and super-automated jetliners. This argument may lie behind Geelys acquisition policy, which has also swept up companies with expertise in other aspects of self-driving cars and suchlike. Heres a the Chinese company has made lately, from . checklist of the tech moves (http://www.autonews.com/article/20171112/INDUSTRY_REDESIGNED/171119923/why-geely-could- be-a-contender) Automotive News Finally theres the cool factor. Elon Muskwho, interestingly, is trying to give cars wingshas always used outlandish projects to fire up the imagination. Witness the , the , and Tesla itself. Such quests for miracles attract top engineering talent. not Hyperloop (/cars-that- think/transportation/alternative-transportation/active-levitation-championed-by-rloop-in-this- weekends-hyperloop-competition) Boring Company (/tech-talk/transportation/alternative- transportation/musk-claims-verbal-approval-for-a-hyperloop-tunnel-from-new-york-to-dc) SpaceX (/aerospace/space-flight/commercial-spaceflight-hits-a-milestone)
3/22/2018 Flying-Car Company Terrafugia is Bought by China's Geely - IEEE Spectrum https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/aerospace/aviation/flyingcar-company-terrafugia-is-bought-by-chinas-geely 3/3 But remember: Musk originally got richalongside Peter Thielby developing a new way to handle money, culminating in PayPal. If youre looking for a commercially compelling tech project, look no further. The Cars That Think Newsletter Biweekly newsletter about the sensors, software, and systems that are making cars smarter. About the Cars That Think blog s blog about the sensors, software, and systems that are making cars smarter, more entertaining, and ultimately, autonomous. IEEE Spectrum , Senior EditorPhilip E. Ross (/author/ross-philip-e) , Assistant EditorWillie D. Jones (/author/jones-willie-d) , Senior WriterEvan Ackerman (/author/ackerman-evan-) , ContributorLucas Laursen (/searchContent?q=Lucas+Laursen) Subscribe to RSS Feed (/rss/blog/cars-that-think/fulltext)

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Flying car company terrafugia is bought by china's geely

  • 1. 3/22/2018 Flying-Car Company Terrafugia is Bought by China's Geely - IEEE Spectrum https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/aerospace/aviation/flyingcar-company-terrafugia-is-bought-by-chinas-geely 1/3 14 Nov 2017 | 18:30 GMT Flying-Car Company Terrafugia is Bought by China's Geely With real money behind its project, maybe Terrafugia will finally hit its latest deadline, in 2019. But it'll probably lose money anyway By Philip E. Ross (/author/ross-philip-e) Photo: Terrafugia We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters," wrote tech billionaire Peter Thiel, Well, Twitter is now going to allow in a tweet, and soonwe are toldwe will finally get a flying car. in 2011. (http://www.businessinsider.com/fo unders-fund-the-future-2011-7) 280 characters (https://www.washingtonpost.com/n ews/the- switch/wp/2017/11/07/twitter-is- officially-doubling-the-character- limit-to-280/? utm_term=.a4b393b75de9) Terrafugia, which in 2006 became one of the very first of a new crop of flying-car companies, says it will have one in 2019. And though that is only the latest in a long string of deadlines the company has set, perhapsPerhaps!this will be the first one that it honors. Reason: The company has just been acquired for an undisclosed sum by Geely, the Chinese automotive company that owns Volvo. The R&D funds should flow profusely. A lot of companies from around the world are chasing the same dreamamong them Toyota, Googles Larry Page, Germanys eVolo, and Chinas EHang. Vahana, a subsidiary of Airbus, was supposed to test- fly a prototype this year, as , but here we are in November with no air taxi. I am not shocked, that this is the case; in this business, deadlines are aspirational. I wrote back in January (/aerospace/aviation/autonomous-air-taxis-will- take-off-in-2017-but-wont-go-far) Whats more, the Vahana craft was supposed to be autonomous. That makes sense, even if its devilishly hard to manage. Theres just no other way to make money off a battery-powered plane that can ferry a mere one or two passengers at a time. Terrafugia has dreams of autonomy as well, in the shape of its TF-X model, but the company has put its deadline a good seven or eight years further out. Not including a fudge factor.
  • 2. 3/22/2018 Flying-Car Company Terrafugia is Bought by China's Geely - IEEE Spectrum https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/aerospace/aviation/flyingcar-company-terrafugia-is-bought-by-chinas-geely 2/3 Okay, so it may seem were beating up on a futuristic company that dares to dream big. But and Terrafugia go back a long way, like an old married couple. Weve been grousing about why we consider Terrafugias unreasonable ever since back in 2007. IEEE Spectrum ambitions we first labeled the company a loser, (/aerospace/aviation/loser-grounded) Photo: Terrafugia The reasons for our skepticism havent changed. Making a car into a plane is really just a way of making a plane that can kinda, sorta move down a road without knocking off the heads of parking meters. Such roadable planes have absolutely no appeal as a car. Indeed, the same can be said of those crazy cars that were supposed to float like boats or even submerge like submarines. No, seriously! Take a look at the that sent James Bond diving deep, in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Lotus Esprit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_ Nellie) One thing has changed, though. Today theres a lot of serious money behind the flying-car dreams, and the question is why. It could be sheer personal enthusiasm. For instance, Billionaire Larry Page is putting his own money into his secretive . Maybe there just wasnt a good enough business case for Google to back it with corporate funds. flying-car project (http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2017/04/24/kitty-hawk-flying- car-jetski-google-larry-page.cnnmoney/index.html) Then theres the tech-demo argument. Doing hard things on a small scale may be a good way to master robotics, sensor fusion, and other skills that will come in handy in self-driving cars and super-automated jetliners. This argument may lie behind Geelys acquisition policy, which has also swept up companies with expertise in other aspects of self-driving cars and suchlike. Heres a the Chinese company has made lately, from . checklist of the tech moves (http://www.autonews.com/article/20171112/INDUSTRY_REDESIGNED/171119923/why-geely-could- be-a-contender) Automotive News Finally theres the cool factor. Elon Muskwho, interestingly, is trying to give cars wingshas always used outlandish projects to fire up the imagination. Witness the , the , and Tesla itself. Such quests for miracles attract top engineering talent. not Hyperloop (/cars-that- think/transportation/alternative-transportation/active-levitation-championed-by-rloop-in-this- weekends-hyperloop-competition) Boring Company (/tech-talk/transportation/alternative- transportation/musk-claims-verbal-approval-for-a-hyperloop-tunnel-from-new-york-to-dc) SpaceX (/aerospace/space-flight/commercial-spaceflight-hits-a-milestone)
  • 3. 3/22/2018 Flying-Car Company Terrafugia is Bought by China's Geely - IEEE Spectrum https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/aerospace/aviation/flyingcar-company-terrafugia-is-bought-by-chinas-geely 3/3 But remember: Musk originally got richalongside Peter Thielby developing a new way to handle money, culminating in PayPal. If youre looking for a commercially compelling tech project, look no further. The Cars That Think Newsletter Biweekly newsletter about the sensors, software, and systems that are making cars smarter. About the Cars That Think blog s blog about the sensors, software, and systems that are making cars smarter, more entertaining, and ultimately, autonomous. IEEE Spectrum , Senior EditorPhilip E. Ross (/author/ross-philip-e) , Assistant EditorWillie D. Jones (/author/jones-willie-d) , Senior WriterEvan Ackerman (/author/ackerman-evan-) , ContributorLucas Laursen (/searchContent?q=Lucas+Laursen) Subscribe to RSS Feed (/rss/blog/cars-that-think/fulltext)