Dreaming Big

Ever since I saw that video of the Tesla Roadster, I can’t stop thinking about it. Not how cool it is, not how innovative or how interesting it is, but how stupid it is, and also just how stupid many products feel these days. I grew up with Back to the Future and Star Wars. The idea of a flying car is intrinsically futuristic and cool to me. There’s no debate worth having about that. But the problem is how it works in reality. In my mind, it was never a technical issue as much as a safety issue. In the very first scene of Back to the Future Part 2, Doc flies the DeLorean on a space highway, through heavy rain, and immediately dodges a flying taxi. He’s the smartest guy in the series, but his flying doesn’t inspire confidence. He takes a light-guided “exit ramp” down to Hill Valley, where he then free-flies into an urban environment, landing the DeLorean between buildings. Think of the most capable person you know having the ability to not just drive a hunk of metal at high speeds, but…