Light eVTOL developer Opener has announced a unique testing program as it looks to achieve market certification and commercialization of its BlackFly aircraft. The company unveiled an Early Access Program today in which a dozen early eVTOL customers will not only get to experience Opener’s training and aerial technology first hand, but will report back about their entire customer experience.
Opener is Palo Alto, California-based eVTOL developer that began as a mere concept by founder Marcus Leng in 2009. By 2011, Leng was completing his first flight with a proof-of-concept personal aircraft in his own front yard in Canada.
For the past decade, Opener has been developing is flagship commercial eVTOL, called BlackFly. During that time, Opener developed and tested various versions of BlackFly, but the company didn’t catch our attention until 2018, when it performed a flight with a pre-production eVTOL.
Aside from looking a bit different from other eVTOLs we cover, BlackFly also has a unique tilt architecture where the eVTOL goes almost completely vertical (you can see it in the video below). With hundreds of billions of flight data points collected and several human-operated flights under its belt, Opener is starting BlackFly deliveries… but only to a very exclusive few that will need to be properly trained and share their experience.
The company’s first customer recently took delivery and was overjoyed during his first flight – have a look.
Opener early adopter and first customer Tim Lum, testing the eVTOL himself / Credit: Opener
Have what it takes for Opener’s early eVTOL access?
Per Opener, it is beginning an Early Access Program (EAP) that will enable the first dozen BlackFly eVTOL customers to take to the skies… as long as they share feedback with the company of course. Per Opener CEO Ken Karklin:
We have a sound and novel aircraft design. Opener’s EAP establishes a two-way communication channel to inform how we address customer concerns, refine features, and optimize the overall user experience. Our close partnership with early adopters is a huge step toward moving us closer to general release and fulfilling the promise of personal aerial freedom.
Since BlackFly was designed as a light eVTOL aircraft that complies with the FAA’s Part 103 (Ultralight) category, no pilot license is required to take one for a ride. That being said, Opener relayed that it requires any and all eVTOL pilots undergo comprehensive flight training.
During the announcement, Opener introduced us to its very first BlackFly customer and early adopter Tim Lum, who recently completed his first flight documented by the company. He shared his initial thoughts as well:
Flight in a BlackFly is amazing. Even though I’ve been in and around aircraft for years, this is my first time as an official VTOL pilot. And the connection with my BlackFly goes well beyond the aircraft itself. It’s all the things that Opener does to assist me — from extensive flight training to delivery and ongoing support. The level of hands-on service is off the charts.
No word on official pricing or commercial production yet. It appears the EAP is Opener’s focus right now as it fine tunes its near-production aircraft.
Opener says the public is welcome to register interest in the Early Access Program, but limited opportunities are available. According to the program’s dedicated page, it looks like only 12 slots are up for grabs, 11 if you count Mr. Lum. That page also has the video of Lum’s experience you’ve got to see. Here’s a separate video of the BlackFly taking off and flying so you can get an idea of how it looks and functions before you obviously sign up to be a test pilot.
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Hyundai issued a recall for nearly 600,000 vehicles in the US, including the popular Palisade SUV and several IONIQ electric vehicles.
Hyundai Palisade and IONIQ EV recall details
In a notice to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on September 12, Hyundai announced a recall of 568,580 2020-2025 model year Palisade vehicles.
The recall is due to faulty seat belt buckles in the front and rear, which may fail to latch. Although Hyundai expects only about 1% of the Palisade models actually have the defect, it’s issuing the recall out of an abundance of caution.
Hyundai said those with impacted vehicles may notice a lighter-than-normal “click” when fastening the seatbelt. You can bring it to a Hyundai dealer, where they will fix the seatbelt, free of charge.
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Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on November 10, 2025. You can contact Hyundai’s customer service at 1-855-371-9460 with any questions. Hyundai’s recall number is 283.
Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Source: Hyundai)
In a separate notice sent to the NHTSA on September 12, Hyundai issued another recall for 31,042 2023 – 2025 IONIQ 6 EV models because the charging port door panel could detach.
Again, Hyundai expects only about 1% of them to have the defect. Those impacted can bring their vehicle to a local Hyundai dealer, where they will fix the port, free of charge.
Owner notification letters will also go out on November 10. Hyundai’s recall number for the IONIQ 6 is 282. Owners can contact Hyundai’s customer service hotline (listed above) with any questions.
The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Hyundai)
But, wait, that’s not all. Hyundai issued a third recall on September 12 for just eight 2025 IONIQ 5 models due to improperly tightened fasteners that could loosen over time. Dealers will replace the bolts, align the wheels, and even replace the tires if needed, free of charge.
If you own any of the recalled vehicles, you can contact Hyundai’s customer service or NHTSA hotline (1-888-327-4236) with questions. You can also visit NHTSA.gov for more information.
Hyundai’s recalls follow Toyota, which issued a recall for over 590,000 vehicles in the US. Between the two, a combined 1.1 million cars have been recalled.
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Tesla has lost another leader of its Optimus humanoid robot program, which is upsetting those who bet on Tesla’s stock (TSLA), as CEO Elon Musk says most of Tesla’s value is tied to the robot.
Musk claims that 80% of Tesla’s future earnings would come from its humanoid robot, which he believes would bring in trillions of dollars and finally justify Tesla trading at more than 200 times earnings.
That’s been hard to believe considering the state of the Optimus program.
Now, we learn that another leader of the Optimus program has left Tesla: Ashish Kumar, who led Tesla’s Optimus AI team for the past two years.
Kumar received a phD in artificial intelligence from Berkeley in 2023 and quickly joined Tesla’s humanoid effort. He was believed to be leading the AI aspect of the program, while Kovac led the overall program, including robotics.
He announced his departure on X:
Decided to leave Tesla.
It’s been an incredible ride leading the Optimus AI team. We went all-in on scalable methods — swapping the classical stack with reinforcement learning & scaling dexterity by learning from videos.
AI is the most significant bit to unlock humanoids.
Kumar confirmed that he joined Meta’s AI team as a researcher. Meta has been aggressively poaching AI researchers over the last year, but Tesla has remained largely unaffected by this effort.
The Facebook owner has been reported to be offering substantial compensation packages worth hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions to AI researchers, but this hasn’t been confirmed.
Some Tesla shareholders were visibly upset by Kumar’s announcement and some quickly accused him of taking Meta’s money:
Kumar responded and claimed that Tesla was actually giving him a better deal than Meta:
Financial upside at Tesla was significantly larger. Tesla is known to compensate pretty well, way before Zuck made it cool. If I wanted to optimize for money, I would have stayed at Tesla.
It didn’t stop many Tesla sharehodlers to be mean to him for simply deciding to work on something else than Optimus:
Electrek’s Take
It will not come as a surprise to anyone here, but damn, the Tesla community is really becoming toxic.
This individual dedicated two years of his life working at Tesla. The only appropriate thing to say is: thanks for your hard work and good luck in your next endeavor.
The reason they are being so mean is that they believe Elon Musk’s lies that Optimus will justify Tesla’s insane valuation and become the most valuable company in the world; this guy’s departure challenges their view.
Why would he give up working on the most important product of all time and likely become a billionaire in the process? Maybe because these things won’t happen?
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It looks like electric motorcycle influencer Surronster has landed himself in trouble south of the border, based on an arrest video posted to his social media channels.
A heavily edited video posted on his Instagram page shows the controversial rider in handcuffs being led into a police vehicle by officers in Tijuana, Mexico. The reel appears to have been filmed by a companion in the influencer’s entourage. No additional context was provided in the post, and at the time of writing, details surrounding the arrest remain unclear.
The incident comes just two days after the influencer posted another update to his social media showing that he was being denied entry into Mexico with his Sur Ron electric off-road motorcycle loaded in the bed of his truck.
In the more recent clip, the Tijuana Municipal Police appear to be questioning him and an associate before handcuffing them both. An officer is seen starting to remove the influencer’s helmet, then the clip jumps to a shot of the influencer entering the back of the police truck, edited to avoid showing his unhelmeted face. Surronster has long concealed his identity, always being filmed while wearing a full-face dirt bike helmet.
Surronster has gained a large following online by pushing the limits of electric motorcycles – especially the Sur Ron Light Bee and similar lightweight electric dirt bikes. His content often shows him performing stunts, riding in traffic without a license plate, and usually on electric dirt bikes that are not street legal for use on public roads. His 1M+ following is comprised mainly of young male viewers in their teens and twenties, with many attempting to imitate the riders’ style and stunts. He has risen to become one of the leading influencers in the electric motorbike industry, all while promoting a rebellious image and racking up millions of views on social media.
That notoriety has earned him plenty of fans, but also a long line of critics. Many in the e-bike and e-moto community have called out the influencer for encouraging illegal and unsafe behavior that risks drawing increased regulation and public backlash against electric two-wheelers, not to mention the danger to young riders who may attempt to recreate his stunts. Others defend him as a thrill-seeking entertainer similar to traditional motorsport stunt riders.
A large proportion of his videos feature illegal riding activities, but his strict control over his anonymity has meant that he has effectively operated with impunity. But getting arrested in a foreign country is a serious matter, and it remains to be seen what charges – if any – he’ll face. At the time of publishing, the Tijuana Minicipal Police have not responded to a request for comment.
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