They who? I work in aerospace and while I have heard many proposals (most 20-40 years from commercial production) for improving efficiency, including hybrid electric systems, I have never once seen anyone propose an electric commercial passenger aircraft.

This is one of my biggest gripes about the tech community. We can't wait for tech that may or may not come to fruition when we have working solutions now. Don't let great be the enemy of the good.

until battery power/weight ratio gets 10x better electric flying vehicles (specifically passenger jets) are dead in the water.

I don't know that we're making the right trade from atmospheric pollution co2 vs the pollution of throwing away batteries.