Are Flying Cars Really Coming to Texas?

I drive rideshare in Austin, and I keep up with tech news. Most of what I read is about robot cars coming for my seat. Then I fell down a different rabbit hole: flying cars. In Texas. Right now.

My first thought was, is this for real? So I read the actual sources. Here’s what I found, and where I’m still not sure.

Air taxis around Dallas-Fort Worth

On Sept. 10, Texas kicked off its first flights under the White House-backed eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, or eIPP. eVTOL means electric vertical takeoff and landing. Basically an electric air taxi that takes off straight up.

Joby Aviation flew its air taxi around the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Joby’s flight plan included going straight into DFW airport and landing at DFW Corporate Aviation, plus trips to Arlington and to Toyota’s North America headquarters in Plano.

I want to be straight about where that comes from. It’s Joby’s own press release, so of course they’re excited. But Smart Cities Dive, a news site, reported it too: Joby “began demonstration air taxi flights in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area Sept. 10,” with routes “including direct flights into Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.”

Joby says the point is to get the FAA the real-world data it needs to build safety rules for commercial service. Joby’s CEO, JoeBen Bevirt, said: “This is just the beginning of what Texas and Joby can build together.”

A plane that flew itself across the country

This one got me. Joby also took a Cessna 208 Caravan fitted with its self-flying tech, called J208, from Concord, California, to Manteo, North Carolina. AOPA reports it covered 3,199 miles across 10 states “with zero control inputs from the onboard safety pilot.”

A safety pilot was still in the cockpit, because the FAA requires it. But the software did the taxi, takeoff, flying and landing.

Archer wants chargers in Austin

Here’s the part that hits close to home. Smart Cities Dive reports that Archer Aviation’s infrastructure group announced plans on Sept. 10 for a charging network for electric air taxis covering North Texas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and rural Texas communities.

To be clear, that’s a plan for chargers. The test flights were up around Dallas-Fort Worth, not here. But Austin is on the map.

Archer also started a series of demo flights on Sept. 4 that take its aircraft from California to Texas and Florida.

And honestly? Nobody I drive or talk to has mentioned any of this. Air taxis are being tested in North Texas, and it’s like nobody around here knows.

Flying cars you could actually own?

Not just air taxis, either. Autoweek did a rundown of real flying cars, and AviNews covered the same companies:

Alef Aeronautics went into limited production late last year with its Model Zero Ultralight, rolled out to “a few early customers.” Next up is the Model A: about $300,000, with more than 3,000 reservations. Autoweek says in the air it looks like a “Jetsons-type bubble-topped luxury sedan.” But full certification for public roads and skies is still pending.
Xpeng, the Chinese automaker, has the Land Aircraft Carrier: a six-wheel van with a two-seat electric aircraft that detaches from the back. Also about $300,000. Xpeng claims 7,000 orders, mostly in China. Production could start as early as next year, with sales in China first.

Will those prices hold? Will anybody over here actually get one? I have no idea.

What about Rolls-Royce?

So where’s Rolls-Royce in all this? I mean the aerospace company, not the car brand. Turns out it tried. In a November 2024 trading update, Rolls-Royce said: “In September, we made the decision to close Rolls-Royce Electrical’s Advanced Air Mobility activities.” Euronews says that shut down its electric flying taxi plans after the company couldn’t find a buyer for the division.

It hasn’t walked away from electric completely, though. In a Sept. 18, 2026 release, Rolls-Royce says it was picked to lead an EU project testing a hybrid-electric system for future short- to medium-range aircraft. That’s big-plane stuff, not air taxis. So no Rolls-Royce flying car that I could find.

Then there’s Tesla

Electrek reports Tesla pushed its Roadster demo from Oct. 1 to Thursday, Oct. 15, blaming “severe conditions” in the forecast for central Texas. Electrek says it’s expected at SpaceX’s rocket test site in McGregor, near Waco, and that the plan is to make the Roadster hover on SpaceX-developed thrusters with nobody in the car. Electrek doubts it’s only about the weather. I guess we’ll see on the 15th.

The catch: the FAA

Here’s where I come back down to earth. AviNews reports that “FAA certification timelines slip and expectations for near-term commercial operations recede.” Joby and Archer both targeted 2025 for commercial passenger service, and neither got there. AviNews says Joby “has not yet received FAA type certification.”

Joby says it’s in the fifth and final stage of FAA type certification. Smart Cities Dive says the big air taxi companies are racing toward a goal of limited commercial flights by the end of this year. A goal isn’t a date on my calendar, though.

So when can regular people ride?

That’s what I really wanted to know. I couldn’t find a date for when Joby’s Texas testing wraps up, or for when Archer’s chargers go in. Neither company has put a date on it that I could find.

The closest thing is TxDOT. The state says the Texas pilot will move in phases over the next three years, and these first flights don’t carry passengers. Medical and cargo testing is next, like moving medical supplies between rural facilities and medical centers in Austin and San Antonio. Passenger air taxi flights across the Texas Triangle are the final phase. No dates on those phases that I could find either.

Where I’m at

So, are flying cars really coming to Texas? They’re being tested here. That part is real. When somebody like me could actually ride in one, nobody’s saying.

As a driver, I’m watching. Robot cars on the ground, now taxis in the sky. I’d rather see it coming than get surprised.

Hustle on hustle.

Driving In Style