What happened
Another day, another electrifying performance from flying-vehicle maker EHang Holdings (EH 4.06%).
In Wednesday trading, shares of the Chinese manufacturer of electric drones were flying 19.4% higher as of 11:05 a.m. EST, capping a three-day winning streak that has seen its market cap rise roughly 50%.
Robot-guided flying taxis? A Chinese company thinks it can build them. Image source: Getty Images.
So what
It would appear that what we're seeing is simply a continuation of the momentum from yesterday's announcement of a successful demonstration of EHang's autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs). But that doesn't necessarily mean that investors are wrong to be excited.
EHang's AAVs differ from unmanned aerial vehicles in a couple of important respects. Most strikingly, they're much larger than your average drone -- large enough to carry human passengers. Also, they're designed to fly themselves without a pilot in the cockpit, or on the ground.
Now what
And if all of that has you thinking "robot air taxis," that seems to be what EHang and its backers are thinking, too. After seeing EHang's demonstration on Jan. 8, a local government official predicted that the company will move from providing airborne sightseeing trips to addressing "more and better uses" in the years to come.
Believe it or not, electric flying taxis piloted by robots are the logical next step for this latest futuristic technology.
