Where Are Those Flying Cars We Were Promised?

Tesla Motors investor sees electric cars as a bomb, wants to bring wheels to the sky

An investor in Tesla Motors Inc. thinks it may be time for big competitors of the electric car maker to admit defeat on their electric models and focus on the next technological leap, perhaps flying cars.

While electric cars are a small percentage of overall sales, more automakers are making them, following General Motors Co's Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and Nissan Motor Co's all-electric Leaf. Tesla started with a high-priced electric roadster that it is phasing out. It recently launched a more mainstream Model S sedan.

Tim Draper, founder of venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which backed Tesla when it began and is a shareholder, said the Model S launch and plans for other electric vehicles are bad news for Detroit's "Big 3" automakers.