The Flying-Taxi Startup From Google's Co-Founder, Explained

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. Kitty Hawk, an aviation company backed by Google co-founder and Alphabet CEO Larry Page, unveiled its autonomous air taxi, named Cora, on Monday*. The two-person passenger vehicle, which has rotors along its wings so it can take off like a helicopter and then fly like a plane without a runway, has undergone a number of "stealth" test flights in New Zealand since October. Kitty Hawk announced that it has been working with the New Zealand government to prepare a fleet of Coras for commercial use over the past 18 months. The company has also been developing a ride-hailing app for the future travel service. So what exactly is this flying taxi capable of?