Elon Musk’s companies have introduced some of the most cutting-edge approaches to space travel and land transportation in the last few years. Given Musk’s history of innovation, no one should be surprised if he announces a move to aviation. Progression in the aviation industry hasn’t stood out as much as its land counterpart, but that’s only because the possible substitutes have to answer pressing questions about financing and environmental sustainability.
Can these major issues be answered by making aircraft go fully electric? Knowing Tesla, can the company shake up the airplane industry? Everyone knows about Musk’s successful exploits in space and in the automotive business, but very few reports have been made about Tesla venturing into aviation. Read on to find out more about the Tesla plane.
Just the idea of making a Tesla-type aircraft already sounds tedious and costly. However, Musk previously suggested that he wants to be involved in creating an electric plane. During a sit-down with podcaster Joe Rogan, Musk said he’d like to see some kind of supersonic jet that doesn’t need a runway to take off.
Musk was referring to making a supersonic jet version of a VTOL, or vertical take-off and landing, a type of aircraft that leaves the ground and lands vertically. It does sound like a great concept, but there are various obstacles Tesla needs to hurdle for it to come to fruition. According to Musk, Tesla’s capability to produce a plane faces the problem of acquiring the appropriate efficient resources. In a separate podcast, Musk admitted that making aircraft is a completely different game. “I think it’s incredibly hard to bring an aircraft to production and meet all of the regulatory requirements worldwide.” For Elon to make a plane, he’d have to pause other activities. He also said that money isn’t the issue but the lack of “exceptional engineers.”
There have been several studies and patents published by car makers like Tesla and Hyundai for a prototype of cars that could carry three to four passengers while in flight. Tesla would need to develop a sense of urgency and present their most impressive works asap since other companies also invest in this kind of technology.
Will the Tesla plane be a better airplane than the traditional one?
Aside from lacking practicality, traditional planes are very costly to operate. Despite being able to travel from New York to London in just 3.5 hours, the Concorde was discontinued since it damaged the ozone layer and fueling it was too expensive. It also needed more precautions when taking off and landing.
However, an electric plane can eliminate these problems. Overall, an electric plane would be cheaper since it requires batteries, not gas. Shortening the runway distance has been suggested by Musk. As mentioned before, he’d like a plane that can do an upward thrust and shift to a forward thrust, giving it the ability to take off like a drone. Since the estimated power for an aircraft to take off would be just 400 watt-hours per kilogram, the idea is very probable “provided the percentage of the cell on the aircraft is high,” explained Musk. As a matter of fact, an electric plane can go for a “decent range” even when operating at 70 percent of 400 watt-hours per kilogram.
While everything sounds good, one huge problem Tesla’s going to have when making a plane is the batteries, something Musk has admitted. It’s important to remember that batteries, despite their strength, can only store so much energy. It’s simply not possible to transport and transfer electricity in the same way that fuels can. Making more efficient batteries is one of Tesla’s main priorities, and that could be achieved in the next few years. A fully charged Tesla car requires a couple of pit stops during a long trip. A plane doesn’t have that luxury. But no worries, companies are exploring methods to improve battery performance without increasing their size.
Another problem would be safety. Multiple precautions can be taken to prevent damage to an airplane’s fuel tank, and if damage does occur, it can be mitigated. Because electric planes are still in their infancy, there is not yet enough data or certifications to establish a safety protocol in the event of a battery failure. Regularly checking for faults in the battery is also really expensive compared to simply checking the fuel pipes. Further, in the event of an emergency during takeoff or landing, a conventional aircraft can dump fuel to reduce the likelihood of an explosion, but if a battery catches fire, there is no way to safely remove it from the aircraft.
Given all those issues, is Tesla willing to go out of its way to try to solve them?
Elon Musk is the type of guy who seeks out problems solely to solve them so people interested in the Tesla plane can also expect the company to find solutions to the issues concerning the idea. Luckily, problems associated with an electric plane aren’t as significant as many think they are. Supersonic jets have previously demonstrated that they can take off vertically. Sadly, electric planes could only fly for relatively short distances compared to traditional planes with a limited speed of no more than 25 miles per hour.
But during the early development stages of EVs, similar criticism was given. Critics said EVs were generally slower and the mileage was lacking. Tesla quickly erased those arguments, and they’ll probably do so in the future with the electric plane. Musk intends to integrate Tesla facilities with SpaceX aero engineers to address these issues. The teaming up will also allow necessary electric plane information to be shared within the group, which other companies wish they could do. Musk has asserted that the models of flying cars can be implemented in real life. And every day, an effort is being made to solve the most significant issues with batteries.
A lot of work has been put into making batteries smaller and more efficient since electric vehicles need them and home appliances and other technologies. The first electric planes will take to the skies as soon as the remaining battery issues are resolved and the necessary testing and certifications are completed.
Just look at the evolution of computers. Laptops today can perform a variety of functions and can be carried wherever you go. Back then, computers could only do limited tasks but were gigantic in size. The same thing will be seen with batteries, we just have to wait.
Tesla also plans to find a way for an electric plane to charge mid-flight. That can be made possible through solar power. The Tesla plane could benefit from a backup power supply provided by highly efficient solar panels in the same way that a traditional plane would benefit from a backup fuel tank. If Tesla wants to maximize solar panel efficiency, it’ll need to examine the technology behind it.
However, Tesla doesn’t have a monopoly on knowledge concerning electric planes. Groups that are dedicated to healthier environments also provide suggestions. The best part about the efforts to develop efficient electric planes is that the information needed to do so is freely available. Ampaire CEO Kevin Noertker said, “we need to make changes to the industry and electrification is one of the big trends that will hopefully reduce that burden.”
What if Tesla does fully commit to making an electric plane, how far will it take, and will it even be possible?
With the help of technological advancements in electrical solutions and Musk’s enthusiasm for the project, a tentative time frame for production may be determined. Research suggests that it’ll take 3 to 4 years for an efficient battery to be finalized. Musk previously replied to a tweet highlighting the Concorde’s last commercial flight. He said, “there should be a new supersonic jet, this time electric.” Then, another two to three years will be needed for testing and research to come up with a model, assuming that Tesla begins to sketch out a blueprint for the plane. However, getting the necessary aviation certifications for mass production of the plane isn’t even the last step. Because of this, an additional one to two years is required, and Tesla would need a year or so to make the aircraft commercially available. Due to new protocols that need to be developed for an electric plane, the process could take much longer than originally anticipated. Taking everything into consideration, it looks like you’ll have to wait around another 8 years before you can witness a supersonic electric airplane flying. And since electric planes help the world in taking one step closer to going green, also expect them to be approved and financially backed by governments. In the same way that SpaceX works with NASA, government aviation agencies may collaborate with Tesla to make the aviation industry more productive, effective, and affordable. But if we’re talking about costs, passengers won’t be able to take advantage of absurdly low fares for at least a few more years. This is because Tesla still needs to recoup the funds it spent on the project before it can start turning a profit.