In Polk, DeSantis touts Florida as leader in 'flying-car' development - Florida has been selected by the FAA as a partner in an advanced air mobility pilot program. - Testing for electric air taxis, or eVTOLs, will occur at the SunTrax facility in Auburndale. - The state is also expanding the testing and deployment of self-driving cars like Waymo. AUBURNDALE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis strode toward a lectern, accompanied by the theme from “The Jetsons,” the 1960s cartoon about a futuristic family. As DeSantis addressed a sweltering audience at the state-owned SunTrax facility, he stood beside a pair of advanced air mobility vehicles, or AAMs, more commonly known as air taxis. DeSantis announced that the Federal Aviation Administration has selected Florida as partner in an AAM pilot program for testing to be done at the Auburndale facility. “We're at the age of flying cars,” Florida Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation Jared Perdue said at the media event. “Think about a future where you have another option on (Interstate 4) to get from Orlando to Tampa. This is potentially going to bring that option, and we want to facilitate, speed the market, with public infrastructure, and that's exactly what we're researching here.” DeSantis had said during an October 2025 news conference in Bartow that SunTrax would become the nation’s first site for private companies to test AAM technology. The Aug. 10 event took place at one of two of the facility’s “vertiports.” “I'm proud to announce that by the end of the year, Florida will be actively testing eVTOL aircraft throughout the Central Florida aerospace region,” DeSantis said. “That means these things are going to be lifting off – they don't need a runway. They're going to lift off, and they're going to fly, and they're going to