Alef Is Promising A Flying Car: Here's What's Actually Happening
Flying cars have been a concept since wheeled cars have been around. To date, no major automaker or independent company has been able to make a viable, mass-produced flying car. Alef Aeronautics, a company with its origins dating back to 2015 says that it has cracked the code to producing a flying car that will not only be able to take to the skies, but also run entirely off of batteries.
From the information that Alef provides to the public, there is a lot to be skeptical of. First, it's not really a car. It's called as a "low speed vehicle," a legal classification of vehicles originally reserved for golf carts and small electric vehicles. That classification comes with very strict guidelines as laid out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Mainly, it cannot exceed 25 miles per hour, and it needs to have brake lights, turn signals, mirrors and other safety equipment to make it road-legal.
Still in the experimental phase
Secondly, there are no images or videos of Alef's first vehicle — the Model A — in flight, driving, or taking off, as it is only in the conceptual phase. A full size prototype was flown in 2018, and the vehicle did recently receive certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, according to CBS news, but only as an experimental vehicle.
It is not a certification for a full-fledged production aircraft, like a company like Cessna or Boeing would need to obtain before making an aircraft ready for the assembly line and runway.
Alef Aeronautics
As of now, Alef has not produced an actual production flying car, and a lot of tangible information like the range, what type of electric motors it will use, and the actual expected delivery date are still up in the air at the moment. However, Alef has set an expected price of $299,999 for the Model A, which is certainly a large chunk of cash, but it is considerably less than your average private jet.
You can pre-order the Model A for $150, or get put in the "Priority Queue" for $1,500 if you're seriously interested. For everyone else who isn't willing to pay the price of a house for an as-yet-unseen flying vehicle, the best you can do is wish Alef luck in attempting to accomplish something that no one in well over 100 years of aviation has been able to do.