Tesla's Chinese Rival Shows Off Electric Flying Car That Takes Off, Lands Vertically

Tesla's rival XPENG AEROHT, one of the largest flying car companies in Asia, showcased to the world the first fully electric flying car that takes off and lands vertically.

The X3 "can take off and land vertically, and fly over traffic congestion, obstacles and rivers to meet a new host of short-distance mobility needs," the company revealed. "Optimized from last year's horizontal dual-rotor structure to a new distributed multi-rotor configuration, the overall system design complexity has also been reduced to further enhance flight safety and reliability. The test vehicle of the new flying car has successfully completed its maiden flight as well as multiple single-motor failure tests," it added.

It is worth noting that the X3 is not the first working VTOL that could soon serve as an air taxi. Several companies like United Airlines had already made their move on flying cars and ordered 200 units from Brazil's jet maker Embraer.

But, it might take some time before people could experience VTOLs as a means to move around. Companies behind this revolutionary product will have to face technological and regulatory challenges first.

In September the Federal Aviation Administration and the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority started "discussions focused on facilitating certification and validating new eVTOL aircraft, production, continued airworthiness, operations, and personnel licensing."

Tesla has not yet commented on the maiden voyage of the X3. The American electric vehicle maker is currently busy producing electric vehicles and working on its humanoid robot Optimus or Tesla Bot.