A surprising announcement rippled through Silicon Valley in the Spring of 2017. A mysterious ‘flying car’ venture took the spotlight, fueled by rumors of Google co-founder Larry Page’s involvement. A marvel of engineering, this all-electric innovation promised to reduce traffic congestion and open the skies for dreamers—a moonshot that captivated engineers, futurists, and tech enthusiasts. But over time, that moonshot started to look more like a longshot. With Page’s financial backing and abundant resources, how could this project have possibly failed? 

Hear the full story on episode 62 of The Great Fail. Special thanks for Hugh Langley for his contributions to this episode. Shoutout to Adweek and Acast.

Episode Resources

Throwback Thursday: The Rise and Fall of Flying-Car Startup Kittyhawk 

Kitty Hawk, the electric aircraft moonshot backed by Larry Page, is shutting down 

Inside the rise and fall of Kittyhawk, Larry Page’s failed flying car company 

How Larry Page’s flying-car company of the future turned into a stunning failure 

Kittyhawk: Employees should “blindly” trust Larry Page 

Where Kittyhawk Failed: The Case of Disruptive Technologies Case Study 

Larry Page’s Flying Car Failure Is a Lesson For Us All 

Larry Page’s Kitty Hawk air taxi startup is shutting down 

Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A) Harvard Case Solution & Analysis 

Inside the rise and fall of Kittyhawk 

Google co-founder’s flying car startup is winding down 

Special Guest

Hugh Langley
Senior tech correspondent Business Insider
Hugh is a senior correspondent at Insider where he focuses on Google and tech investigations.