DeLorean Takes A Ride On Tesla’s “Flying Car” Coattails

This is car industry news, not a home energy story, but here's what happened. Tesla unveiled its new Roadster electric car, with hints it could briefly leave the ground using thrusters from SpaceX. Around the same time, the DeLorean Motor Company, the revived brand behind the car from "Back to the Future," announced it's entering a different kind of flying vehicle race. DeLorean will field a team in the Airspeeder International Series, a new competition where electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, called eVTOLs, race through courses in the sky rather than on a track. DeLorean's team starts racing in November, using an aircraft built by another company, Alauda, since DeLorean hasn't built its own flying vehicle yet. A separate, unrelated company called DeLorean Aerospace has also been working on its own eVTOL prototype for years, which adds some confusion since both use the DeLorean name.

None of this involves a product homeowners can buy or any technology that affects home energy use. It's a glimpse at where electric vehicle makers are experimenting next, in racing and aviation, far from household upgrades like heat pumps or insulation. There's no rebate, deadline, or purchase decision here that touches your house. It's simply a sign that EV companies are branching into flashier, experimental territory as the core electric car market matures.