Trump Clears the Way for a Dystopian Air Taxi Future

Donald Trump, who was backed by a bunch of tech billionaires^[1] during this past presidential election, is busy transforming America into a corporate dystopia straight out of the 1980s science fiction films that those billionaires have long admired for all the wrong reasons. For one thing, Trump has fully embraced AI^[2]—helping to cut what little regulation existed under the Biden administration, in an effort to further liberate the already blossoming and disruptive new industry. He also recently paved the way^[3] for more self-driving cars on America’s roadways. Now, Trump is turning his attention to Air Taxis.

On Friday, former Road Rules contestant and Trump’s Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, unveiled a plan to “Fast-Track Advanced Air Mobility Vehicles.” That plan involves a pilot program, dubbed the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program (eIPP)^[5], which will consist of a public-private partnership involving the government and an unknown number of aviation companies. The program will involve “at least five” projects, and will take place over the course of three years. The government also says that state and local governments will be asked to work together with participating companies to come up with new regulatory frameworks to accommodate the new vehicles.  ^[4]

What sort of needs will these experimental new vehicles serve? The government lists short-range air taxi flights, “longer-range, fixed wing flights,” and flights based around cargo transportation, logistics, and supply serving emergency management, as well as medical transport or offshore energy assistance.

Trump helped the program get off the ground with an executive order^[6] passed in June, dubbed Unleashing American Drone Dominance, which was designed to “accelerate the safe commercialization of drone technologies and fully integrate UAS into the National Airspace System.” The EO, while also bolstering drone production, establishes the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program in an effort to “accelerate the deployment of safe and lawful eVTOL operations in the United States.”

“The next great technological revolution in aviation is here. The United States will lead the way, and doing so will cement America’s status as a global leader in transportation innovation,” said Duffy on Friday. “That means more high-paying manufacturing jobs and economic opportunity. By safely testing the deployment of these futuristic air taxis and other AAM vehicles, we can fundamentally improve how the traveling public and products move.”

Despite the dream of “flying cars” (something the tech industry has been promising for many, many years^[7]), the term is basically marketing-speak for new kinds of hybrid aerial vehicles. Silicon Valley has long sought to create a market for these vehicles, but they need to be proven safe and effective according to federal standards first. Well, you’d think that, anyway. The New York Times reports that^[8] the new program will “test limited operations of electric air taxis before they are formally certified by the Federal Aviation Administration,” a concerning development that is nevertheless par for the course for the Trump administration—which always seems to prize “innovation” and business concerns over any regulatory good (you know, like making sure a vehicle is safe before it flies over your house).

It’s unclear what the state and local regulatory frameworks for these pilot programs will look like, or if they’ll happen at all, but, you know, hopefully they are strict enough to save us from any unfortunate incidents.

Companies are already champing at the bit to get involved. On the same day as the DOT’s announcement, a firm called Archer Aviation announced that^[9] it would be “aiming to participate in the White House’s newly established eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP).” The company, which operates a futuristic aerial vehicle, said that it was looking to collaborate with major airlines. “Archer is now exploring pathways to work together with U.S. airlines, including United Airlines, and interested cities under the new program to design and execute trial operations of Archer’s Midnight aircraft as part of the eIPP,” the press release says. “The trials are expected to focus on demonstrating that eVTOL operations are safe, quiet and scalable,” the company added.

Gizmodo reached out to the Trump administration to ask if it had decided on which companies would participate. We will update this post if we hear back.