SpaceX-backed flying car startup says it hit record 2,850 pre-orders for $300K vehicles
A SpaceX-backed maker of flying cars that carry a price tag of $300,000 said it has a pre-order backlog of 2,850 units – with the first prototypes scheduled to be in the air as early as next year.
Alef Aeronautics, a Silicon Valley-based startup, said that the pre-orders for its Model A total more than $850 million.
The 850-pound, two-seat car, first unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show last year, is an electrical vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL) capable of reaching speeds of 110 miles per hour in the air and up to 35 miles per hour on the ground.
Customers can put down a fully refundable $150 deposit for the vehicle.
Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration granted the Model A a Special Airworthiness Certification — allowing the company to fly the car in limited locations.
However, it also still needs approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to go on roads.
There are many unresolved questions surrounding the practical aspects of flying cars being used in cities.
Last April, the FAA published a report titled “Concept of Operations: Urban Air Mobility” which envisioned “air taxis” operating within corridors between vertiports built in city centers and airports.
As of now, there are no legal or regulatory provisions governing the routes and trajectories of flying cars within cities.
Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny told CNBC that he expects regulatory approval for what he calls the “first flying car in history.”
“If everything goes right, we plan to … start production of the first one by the end of 2025,” Dukhovny said.
One feature that sets the Model A apart from earlier versions of flying cars is how it flies.
Once it lifts off the ground, the cockpit swivels and the carbon-fiber body turns over on its side, then moves forward, driven by an array of propellers.
Most other recent attempts by competitors resemble giant drones – and are not capable of wheeled travel on the ground.
Alef estimates a driving range of 200 miles and a flight range of 100 miles.
Dukhovny has an even bigger trick up his sleeve for 2035: A proposed Model Z sedan, with a flight range of 200 miles and a driving range of 400 miles – and a projected price tag of $35,000.
“This is not more complicated than a Toyota Corolla,” he said.
“Our goal is to make sure it has the same price point.”
Alef’s product was thought to be so promising that in 2022 it was backed with $3 million in seed money by Tim Draper, an early investor in Tesla and SpaceX.
“I put more (money in) when I saw that they had created a small drone prototype that did exactly what they told me it would do,” Draper told Reuters in 2022.
“The design is extraordinary. The sides of the car become the wings when the plane goes horizontal.”
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