Described as a "formula one racing car for the sky," the Jetson One is an electric-powered VTOL sky toy that can hover, bank, and reach speeds of up to 63 mph. The company's latest video will leave you wanting it more than ever.
Last October, we highlighted the aerial moves of a personal electric single-passenger drone that certainly got our attention. The Jetson One is an electric vertical take-off-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicle that sits in a sweet spot between commercial air taxis and outrageous flying cars.
Now the company is back, marking the release of its first production-line vehicle with the following 10-minute-long video that shows just how fun the One is to steer through the sky.
Modeled after the crash cage in racing cars, the open-air One is extremely compact. It's also extraordinarily easy to pilot, thanks to its fly-by-wire system that lets the operator control eight different motors with a single joystick. Thanks to construction using aluminum and carbon fiber, the rig is pretty light, weighing just about 190 lb (86 kg). It can travel for up to 20 minutes on a single charge and it is admirably nimble, able to hover, bank, and even go in reverse while zooming through the sky.
It also seems pretty safe. In December, Jetson demonstrated how the One can stabilize itself when a rotor fails by redistributing power to the other motors. The vehicle also uses LiDAR to navigate and avoid obstacles and has an auto-land function if something were to happen to the pilot.
Now that the first production version of One has taken flight, the company plans to start rolling them out in earnest. A non-refundable deposit of US$8,000 will let you reserve one, but it'll take a bit more than that to have what amounts to your own personal helicopter, as the current retail price is US$128,000. You'll also have to wait a bit to make your Jetson dreams come true, as all orders for 2025 and 2026 are already full; the company has an estimated delivery date of 2027 for reservations put in now. At least that'll give you plenty of time to save up.
Source: Jetson
If it’s anything like every other electric vehicle I know of, getting that full 20 minutes will require going at a less draining speed, a.k.a. much slower than 63 MPH.
Whether you choose to travel only short distance or take a lot longer to go that short distance, this is clearly just a rich man’s pointless toy.