A 25,000-pound electric plane just flew for five dollars

The largest battery-electric plane ever flown just completed a 30-minute flight on five dollars of electricity.

Heart Aerospace flew its X1 demonstrator at Plattsburgh International Airport in upstate New York on August 12, according to Ars Technica. The 25,000-pound aircraft relies on four wing-mounted motors outputting over one megawatt of power. It stayed airborne for nearly half an hour while drawing five dollars of grid power. That low energy cost comes as jet fuel prices spike due to the US war with Iran.

Why it matters: Jet fuel costs shift fast during global turmoil. Electric propulsion offers cleaner, cheaper flights, but current battery tech limits pure-electric runs to 100 or 200 miles. Heart will not sell this all-electric X1. Instead, the test feeds into the ES-30, a 30-seat hybrid regional airliner with a 500-mile range aimed at short-haul city routes.

Know this: United Airlines has already committed to buying 100 of Heart's hybrid planes once production begins.

Gas prices might swing, but grid power keeps looking better.