The race to bring science fiction to life is heating up but it might not be self-driving cars that reach the finish line first. While the dream of autonomous vehicles navigating our roads has faced significant technological and regulatory hurdles, another futuristic concept flying cars appears to be gaining ground. Recent developments suggest that flying cars could become a commercial reality sooner than fully self-driving cars.
The concept of flying cars has long been a staple of science fiction, but it is now becoming a reality. Alef Aeronautics, a Silicon Valley-based startup founded in 2015, has announced that it will begin production of the world’s first commercially available flying car in 2024.
Last year, the California-based development company Alef Aeronautics unveiled their Alef Model A, a modern-looking flying car that could revolutionize personal transportation. Recently, the company announced that they had received 3,200 pre-orders, signaling that production of the vehicle may soon begin. This development marks a significant step towards the commercialization of flying cars, a concept long imagined in science fiction but now approaching reality.
At first glance, the Model A by Alef Aeronautics might deceive you into thinking it’s just another car blending into the urban landscape. However, as one draws nearer, the illusion dissipates, unveiling a marvel of modern engineering: a cabin encapsulated within a robust carbon fiber mesh. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill vehicle; it’s Alef Aeronautics’ inaugural foray into the realm of flying cars, a concept straight out of science fiction, poised to enter commercial production by 2025.
The Alef A model is a flying car being sold by Alef Aeronautics for around $300,000. It is expected to be available for purchase in 2025 and has a range of over 300 km on land and 177 km in the air. It can hold one or two passengers. You can place an order for the car on the company’s website for $150, but if you want priority production, you will need to pay an additional $1,500 on top of the purchase price.
Alef Aeronautics, based in California, has designed their flying car prototypes to resemble traditional cars and plans to begin selling them in 2025 for $300,000.