*By Britt Terrell* In the race to deploy autonomous driving technology to chauffeur passengers wherever they might go by road, Uber's Elevate division is also looking to gain an edge in the air by becoming the first company to bring similar self-driving technology to its fleet of flying taxis [as early as 2020](https://nypost.com/2018/05/07/uber-hopes-to-have-flying-taxis-by-2020/). "It's actually going to be significantly easier we think, because a lot of the problems that you deal with on the road such as complicated street signs, such as other cars that may not be necessarily cooperative ー we're going to build the system to be autonomous for the future vision from the outset," said Nikhil Goel, head of product and advanced programs at Uber. But in an interview Tuesday with Cheddar, Goel said the company was proceeding with caution, especially as Uber addresses issues with its ground-level autonomous driving technology. The company found that its self-driving feature was at fault when one of its cars killed a pedestrian in March. The vehicle did not brake soon enough. Though the challenges for autonomous driving on the ground are different from those in the air, the technology still needs some work. "These vehicles will actually start out as piloted," Goel said, referring to Uber's plans for flying taxis, adding they would only be used after close coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration and after a thorough safety review. Uber was scheduled to meet with U.S. transportation and safety officials this week at its second annual Elevate Summit. Officials will hear about the company's technological developments as it seeks to begin testing its flying taxi technology in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Dubai. For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/uber-gets-elevated).

Share:
More In Technology
Klarna shares jump 30% on Wall Street debut
Swedish buy now, pay later company Klarna is making its highly anticipated public debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, the latest in a run of high-profile initial public offerings this year. The offering priced at $40 Tuesday, above the forecasted range of $35 to $37 a share, valuing the company at more than $15 billion. The valuation easily makes Klarna one of the biggest IPOs so far in 2025, which has been one of the busier years for companies going public. Other popular IPOs so far this year include the design software company Figma and Circle Internet Group, which issues the USDC stablecoin..
Musk loses crown as world’s richest to software giant Larry Ellison
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison wrested the title of the world’s richest man from longtime holder Elon Musk early Wednesday as stock in his software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading. That is according to wealth tracker Bloomberg. A college dropout, the 81-year-old Ellison is now worth $393 billion, Bloomberg says, several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest for four years. The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle. Forbes still has Musk as the richest, however, valuing his private businesses much higher.
Load More