In addition to being a rival in the courtroom, Alphabet could pose competition in the skies. Chief Executive Officer Larry Page funded at least two flying car projects. The startups Kitty Hawk and Zee.Aero, which are separate from Alphabet, are racing to build personal aircrafts similar to those Uber has proposed.
Kitty Hawk released a video on Monday showing one of its vehicles zooming across a lake, hovering about 15 feet in the air, with a rider astride the top like on a motorcycle.
Airbus SE has proposed several different concepts for vertical takeoff vehicles, and the government of Dubai is joining with China's EHang to bring closed-top passenger drones to the city.
Uber first revealed its intentions to build a system of flying cars in a white paper last fall. In February, the company said it hired NASA aircraft engineer Mark Moore to work on Uber Elevate, its flying car initiative. Uber said Tuesday that it's teaming up with Aurora Flight Sciences, Pipistrel Aircraft, Embraer SA, Mooney International and Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. to develop electric vehicles.
It also said it's working with Hillwood Properties in Dallas-Fort Worth and several other real estate firms in Dubai to choose sites and construct ports for vehicle takeoffs and landings.