Flying car production begins | KTVU

Olive's Flying Car Production Underway [00:04]

• Production of the world's first flying car has begun at Olive's facility in San Mateo.
• The company is on schedule, with production starting at the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026.
• This represents a significant milestone, as the flying car concept is complex and requires careful execution.

"Um, sure. So, I was on your show some time ago and we communicated that we would be doing the first uh production starting at the end of 25, beginning of 26 and we're happy to do that."

Pre-Orders and Interest Levels [01:20]

• Olive has received 3,500 pre-orders for the flying car, amounting to over $1 billion.
• The company emphasizes that safety is paramount, and they aim to fulfill orders without compromising on it.
• They aim to be transparent about milestones to keep customers informed and manage expectations.

"Right. So, right now we have 3,500 pre-orders which amount a little bit over uh a billion dollars and they obviously keep coming thanks to show like yours."

Initial Customer Selection and Testing [02:13]

• The first flying cars rolling out are Model A's, available to a limited number of customers.
• This limitation is due to testing not only production but also how people will use the vehicle in real-world scenarios.
• Initial customers, some of whom are investors, will be in the Bay Area, allowing for testing in a controlled environment with specific usage guidelines.

"We're also testing how people going to use it uh in actual real life. One of the first customers is actually from Bay Area. So we want to make sure we test it in a controlled environment which means it's people who we know some of them are current of our investors."

Transition to Automated Manufacturing [03:29]

• Currently, the vehicles are being assembled by hand at the San Mateo facility.
• Olive is moving towards factory and robotic manufacturing, with incentives being offered by various US states for EV car production.
• The goal is to automate the process and begin mass manufacturing.

"We are moving towards the factory manufacturing mostly robotic manufacturing and we have number of candidates unfortunately none of them in California but we have other US states who offer incentive for produ and this is by the way EV this is regular EV car this is electric vehicle which can drive on the road and vertically take off."

Pricing and Future Cost Reduction [04:11]

• The current price for the Model A is approximately $300,000.
• As production volume increases, the price is expected to decrease, potentially falling under $30,000 if production levels match regular automotive companies.
• Early adopters will secure the initial vehicles, with prices expected to decrease as manufacturing scales.

"Eventually, it should be actually under $30,000, right? If we get to production level of um regular automatic um automotive companies."

Operational and Legal Considerations [05:38]

• Users cannot take off or land from restricted areas like freeways.
• The flying car is considered an ultra-light aircraft, subject to regulations governing such aircraft.
• Takeoffs and landings must occur in permitted areas for ultra-light aircraft, which include non-densely populated areas, not necessarily airports or helipads.

"Um, you can drive and then you can take off. So, this is what it's considered ultra light aircraft. So, the rules which apply to ultral light aircraft also apply to al flying car which means you can drive most of the way and whenever there is a permitted permitted areas for ultralight aircraft to take off and land this is where you can take off and uh fly."