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A self-driving, flying taxi is (almost) here

Larry Page’s startup wants Cora to be your flying taxi

After six months of testing in New Zealand, a startup has unveiled the future the Jetsons once promised us: an autonomous flying taxi.

The aircraft, named Cora, is electric-powered, and its 12 fans allow it to perform vertical takeoffs and landings. It's made by Kitty Hawk, a California-based startup backed by Alphabet CEO and Google co-founder Larry Page. The company claims Cora can travel at 110 miles per hour, with a range of 62 miles from a single charge.

But Kitty Hawk doesn’t plan to sell Cora to the public, opting instead to market its fleet as an airline or ride-share service.

Cora is one of two aircraft projects in the works from Kitty Hawk. The other is Flyer, a personal, ultralight aircraft designed for flying over water.

It's a wild idea, but it's still not quite ready for primetime. Flyer was expected to be on sale to the public by the end of 2017, but a video released Monday advertised the product only as “coming soon.” Still, Kitty Hawk thinks it'll be giving rides to New Zealanders as early as 2021, according to the New York Times.