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Alef Aeronautics, a California company, built the first fully electric flying car. It was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and is now taking preorders since its approval, per USA Today.
“We’re excited to receive this certification from the Federal Aviation Administration,” Alef CEO and co-founder Jim Dukhovny said in a statement.
The Alef flying car was awarded a Special Airworthiness Certification which means that the company can test the car in both the air and on roads. Dukhovny said the certification “allows us to move closer to bringing people an environmentally friendly and faster commute, saving individuals and companies hours each week. This is a one small step for planes, one giant step for cars.”
The flying car is fully electric and can drive up to 200 miles on roads, fits in a regular garage, and can launch vertically into the air with a 110 mile flying range. Instead of electric fuel, a hydrogen option is available for a higher price.
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The Model A car “can fly forward above the obstacles until a desired destination is reached,” Alef's company site reads. “The driver and the cabin are stabilized by a unique gimbaled rotating cabin design.”
Alef's car can avoid traffic, and fly in any direction while giving a “cinematic 180 plus degree view for safe and enjoyable flight.”
The two seater car is available for preorder for an expected price of $300,000.
“The historical significance of this cannot be overstated,” Dukhovny told USA Today. “While there have been pioneers like Terrafugia, Paul Moller, and Henry Ford, this is the first time a vehicle, in the traditional sense (parks and drives like a car, functions like a car, looks like a car), has received permission to fly. It's also important that Alef is the first electric car which received permission to fly. And, last but not least, the ability for vertical takeoff is central to most people's conception of a ‘flying car.'”
