With the arrival of electric vehicles and how clean and cost-effective they are, you may anticipate that all forms of transportation, including aeroplanes, will eventually become electric-powered. Elon Musk is the man you can count on to make this a reality. In fact, he appears to have already planned the unveiling of the Tesla electric aeroplane.
Elon Musk has indicated that he is "desperate" to expand Tesla's company to include electric supersonic aircraft.
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Using vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) technology, the aircraft would ascend to a high altitude before deploying battery-powered propulsion to reach speeds in excess of 1,236 km/h (768mph).
The wealthy polymath asserted that his current workload is the only thing blocking him from creating the next-generation aeroplane. Using emojis for the latter two sentences, he tweeted on Thursday, "Adding more work will make my brain explode if I do a supersonic, electric VTOL jet."
Musk has previously expressed his intention to build an electric jet during an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast and presented a proposal. "I have an aeroplane design," he remarked. The most fascinating thing to undertake would be to build a supersonic electric vertical takeoff and landing jet.
The proposal would employ two distinct propulsion systems: one to lift the aircraft out of the throng and into the air, and another to propel it forward at supersonic speeds. "The intriguing aspect of an electric plane is that you want to fly as high as possible, but you need a specific energy density in the battery pack to overcome gravitational potential energy," he explained.
"Once you've overcome gravitational potential energy and reached a high altitude, the energy you spend on a cruise is quite low, and you may recuperate a significant portion of your gravitational potential energy on the way down," he added.
As you ascend in altitude, you will travel faster for the same amount of energy. And at a certain altitude, supersonic flight can be achieved with significantly less energy per mile than at 35,000 feet. "
As of today, The Hyperloop is a new means of transportation proposed by Musk. He penned a whitepaper for the 1,000 kph vacuum tube pods because he was unable to develop them himself, and other startups used it to develop their own versions.
Musk subsequently backed competitions to promote Hyperloop's development, with the hope that Hyperloop networks will offer an ecologically friendly and more efficient alternative to flying. However, this will not be an aeroplane.
Then, against whom will Tesla compete, and what will they improve upon from the past? During the construction of the airship at the end of the nineteenth century, the first experiments with the use of electricity for aircraft propulsion were conducted.
On October 8, 1883, Gaston Tissandier piloted the first electrically powered airship. The following year, Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs flew La France with a more powerful engine. The huge accumulators necessary to store the energy significantly limited the speed and range of early airships, despite their lifting capability.
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AeroVironment, Inc.'s Pathfinder, Pathfinder Plus, Centurion, and Helios series of solar and fuel cell-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were manufactured by AeroVironment, Inc. between 1983 and 2003 as part of NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology programme.
This reignited interest in the development of unmanned electric aircraft. True fixed-wing aircraft were developed much later. In 2003, the first certificate of airworthiness for an electric aircraft was issued to the Lange Antares 20E.
With fully charged lithium-ion batteries and a 42 kW (56 hp) DC/DC brushless motor, it can scale a height of 3,000 metres (9,800 feet). Electric airliner viability is still several years away. However, Rolls-Royce made news by unveiling the "Spirit of Innovation."
This aeroplane has electric propellers alone. In November of 2021, the Spirit of Innovation averaged 555.9 km/h (345.4 mph) over 3 km and 532.1 km/h (330 mph) over 15 km. The World Air Sports Federation has now validated these achievements, which occurred at an experimental testing facility, as world records.
Rolls-Royce deemed it a "great achievement." In Wiltshire, the average speed of the aeroplane across 3 kilometres was 213.04 km/h, faster than the previous record (132 mph). The old record was 292.8 km/h (182 mph), while the new one was 292.8 km/h (182 mph).
The third attempt at a world record for the fastest ascent to 3,000 metres, which lasted 202 seconds, is still undergoing verification. If permitted, it would break the current record by 60 seconds. The official record entry did not include a maximum speed of 387.4 miles per hour (62.3 kilometres per hour), which would have made it the fastest electric car ever.
A 400kW electric motor powers the aircraft, which is equivalent to a 535 horsepower supercar. According to Rolls-Royce, whose aerospace headquarters are in Derby, the engine battery pack was the most power-dense ever constructed for a plane.
It can charge 7,500 mobile devices. Rolls Royce's accomplishment is without a doubt monumental. Nonetheless, the concept is still in its infancy. Tesla is the leader in battery capacity and power among EV vehicle manufacturers. Nobody else comes close.
Probably because of Tesla's competence in battery technology, Elon Musk is so confidently imagining a future electric airliner. Other corporations, though, are vying for priority access.
A French aviation start-up intends to become the "Tesla of the skies" with the development of two new electric-powered aircraft. Aura Aero is developing a two-seater aircraft that will enter the market in 2023, as well as an interregional passenger plane that will take to the skies in 2027.
Toulouse, the location of the company's headquarters, is already home to Airbus, the largest aircraft manufacturer in Europe, and hence serves as the centre of the European aerospace industry. As a result, unless he has something in the works that puts his mind at ease, Elon Musk may consider acting quickly on the matter.
Possibly an incredibly potent battery pack unlike anything ever seen? Who can say? Let's take this opportunity to mention that Elon Musk is interested in a "Tesla Model V" electric aeroplane concept design. In late 2020, the CEO remarked on the design on Twitter.
British industrial designer Tom Abbot-Davies conceived the concept. The design is based on the appearance of a manta ray, according to eVTOL News, although it can only carry one passenger.
Musk responded to a Twitter post from "blue bnd" describing the concept with "Looks quite interesting." It consists of three ducted fans with titanium turbine blades capable of vertical flight, with the rear fan mounted on a gimbal for forward flight. This is gyroscopically stabilised to guarantee a smoother flight.
It has three motors driven by lithium-ion batteries: a 1,250-kilowatt rear motor and two 650-kilowatt brushless motors with rotor blades. All of this contributes to dispersed electric propulsion, allowing the aircraft to land safely even if one component fails.
The retractable landing gear is concealed beneath an exterior carbon fibre underbody. It has a magnesium fuselage, a titanium exterior, and a wide canopy with space for two passengers. In 2014, Abbot-Davies began working on this project.
In 2017, while attending Loughborough University, he resumed the design work, creating the designs with Solid Works and Keyshot. Abbot-Davies obtained his bachelor's degree and graduated from the institution in 2019.
Although Musk lauded the concept on Thursday, Abbot-Davies had previously submitted it as part of his unsuccessful internship application with Tesla. Because life is full of surprises and ups and downs, we hope that Tom Abbot-Davies will finally achieve his goals.
Regarding Tesla and Elon Musk, we should likely wait a long time since the company is still very busy finishing its product range.
We cannot expect any official updates on the Tesla aeroplane before the Cybetruck and the new $25,000 car are released.
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