As you’ve no doubt heard a thousand times today, in the 1989 movie Back to the Future II, Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly traveled to October 21st, 2015 (Did you know that is today?). He rode a hoverboard and wore a puffy varsity jacket:
As popularity of the Back to the Future franchise ballooned, the hoverboard, a neon, flying skateboard-without-wheels that looks like a pastel version of Eddie Van Halen’s guitar, became an object of desire. Toy company Mattel seized on that collective want and made its own “hoverboard” in 1989, the year of Back to the Future II’s release.
Except, as we all know now, the toy seemed like cruel joke. Given that the first launch of Mattel’s hoverboard occurred in 1989, actual floatation was never going to happen, but the lack of technology did not prevent Mattel from marketing the product with a shameful level of deceit.
While the colors were “totally rad,” what Mattel actually produced was a cumbersome looking heap of plastic that appeared to float on TV. It is a technicolor scooter with handlebars only a poser would use. It doesn’t even have wheels, so it makes one wonder how the thing actually moved. It didn’t, of course.
The dishonest commercial and the toy it hawked roused a backlash among consumers, and it wasn’t until 2012 that Mattel decided to trot out the hoverboard idea again.
Except the rebooted toy landed with a resounding thud in that year, even after a decent amount of press and hype got the sci-fi rank and file all worked up. It didn’t float, either. It does offer speaker that emits a “whooshing” sound effect, which is what the hoverboard might sound like if it was hovering.
Unsurprisingly, there weren’t many positive reviews of the 2012 hoverboard. In fact, some takes on the toy are scathing.
Bob Gale, Back to the Future’s screenwriter, had supported Mattel’s efforts in 2012, but issued a cutting statement on the product once he actually saw it that year. He wasn’t particularly happy about the hoverboard’s $120 price tag, either.
The shade thrown at Mattel, especially from the guy who wrote Back to the Future seems warranted, given that all consumers wanted was something that “will gently glide over most level surfaces,” as the toy’s listing on Mattel’s website boasted.
This is kind of funny, given that most efforts to produce an actual, real life hoverboard have proven the task to be nearly impossible and astronomically expensive.Learn Something New Every DaySubscribe for free to Inverse’s award-winning daily newsletter!By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our
He marketed his design under the brand name Hovertrax, which sold for about $1,000. Cheap imitations, made in Chinese factories, have flooded the market at about one quarter of the cost.
Then patent law intervened. The patent holder Razor USA sued (spending up to $1 million per week!) to shut down the myriad “pirate” hoverboard beings sold online (and on the streets), mostly from China. They cost a fraction of what a “real” hoverboard cost.
What does this fiasco mean for consumers? Most often it just means higher prices and slower innovation (since innovation requires competition, not monopoly). But in this case, the snags and snafus are so egregiously complex that it means what would be unthinkable in a free market: the absolute unavailability of a product that everyone wants.
But the story hardly stops there. If you search today for hoverboard on Amazon, what you find are hoverboard skins, hoverboard chargers, hoverboard decals, hoverboard simulators, hoverboard refrigerator magnets. What you will not find is an actual hoverboard. Right now, you can only get those on eBay.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission intervened to ban models that didnt pass a certain regulatory test—as if any company really wanted to sell defective products. As a result, some commentators chalk up the disappearance of the hoverboard to bad manufacturing.
Government interventions can sometimes have opaque results, so far removed from the consumers experience that explaining cause and effect can be difficult. In this case, it is not so hard: The government has effectively banned something you love, all in the name of a paper legal claim. A claim to enforce rights has actually violated them.
As you’ve no doubt heard a thousand times today, in the 1989 movie Back to the Future II, Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly traveled to October 21st, 2015 (Did you know that is today?). He rode a hoverboard and wore a puffy varsity jacket:
The shade thrown at Mattel, especially from the guy who wrote Back to the Future seems warranted, given that all consumers wanted was something that “will gently glide over most level surfaces,” as the toy’s listing on Mattel’s website boasted.
Bob Gale, Back to the Future’s screenwriter, had supported Mattel’s efforts in 2012, but issued a cutting statement on the product once he actually saw it that year. He wasn’t particularly happy about the hoverboard’s $120 price tag, either.
As popularity of the Back to the Future franchise ballooned, the hoverboard, a neon, flying skateboard-without-wheels that looks like a pastel version of Eddie Van Halen’s guitar, became an object of desire. Toy company Mattel seized on that collective want and made its own “hoverboard” in 1989, the year of Back to the Future II’s release.
Except the rebooted toy landed with a resounding thud in that year, even after a decent amount of press and hype got the sci-fi rank and file all worked up. It didn’t float, either. It does offer speaker that emits a “whooshing” sound effect, which is what the hoverboard might sound like if it was hovering.
India’s first hoverboard
FAQ
Who made the first real hoverboard?
When did hoverboards become big?
Is a hoverboard invented yet?
How have hoverboards changed since they first hit the market?
Hoverboards have changed since they first hit the market in 2014; now, there are many features that the early hoverboards did not have. The first hoverboards that came out early in 2014 did not have features like LEDs or remote controls; the batteries and other features were also less advanced.
How much does a hoverboard cost?
The first working hoverboard that hit the market sold for about $1000; the hoverboard inventor, Shane Chen, sold his invention under Hovertrax. Once he’d completed the design and it could be ridden, he marketed the products under the Hovertrax brand and sold them for about $1000 each.
When did hoverboards come out?
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Hoverboards, also known as self-balancing scooters, have become a popular mode of transportation over the years. But when did they come out? The prototype hoverboard was developed in 2013 by a Canadian inventor named Cătălin Alexandru Duru.
Are hoverboards possible?
Hoverboards were feasible, but it was still too difficult to build them with the day’s technology. Hoverboards were largely forgotten for decades and seemed to fall out of favor. Then, came Back to the Future. A page from the book Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History. Image credits: /Film