Alef Aeronautics, which includes Elon Musk's SpaceX under ownership, reported Monday that the company has received 2,850 pre-orders for its electric flying car, the Model A.
The car can be pre-ordered online for a $150 deposit. However, customers can withdraw the deposit at any time without obligation.
The company plans for the car to cost $300,000, or about 3.2 million Norwegian kroner, when it becomes available for sale.
“As of today, we have just over 2,850 pre-orders with deposits, making it the best-selling aircraft in history, more than Boeing, Airbus, Joby Air and most electric flying cars combined.,” Alif CEO Jim Duchovny is said to have said. CNBC.
The company is one of several startups trying to produce flying cars. Others include German company Lilium, which wants to start operating air taxis, as well as Chinese company Joby Aviation.
Alef is backed by the likes of Tim Draper, an early Tesla investor, and Elon Musk's space exploration company SpaceX.
The world's first flying car
According to CEO Dukhovny, the Alef will be the world's first “proper” flying car, considering that competing vehicles have so far looked more like small planes with wings or helicopter-like helicopters.
The company's Model A should look more like a real car, with the rotors hidden. In addition, there should be no need for wings, as the car turns sideways and uses the bodywork as a wing.
“I know people claimed to have the first flying car, but we always had the idea that it had to be a car, a physical car, a regular car, an electric car, a car that could drive and stop, that could take off vertically,” Duchovny reportedly told CNBC.
The Alef will be designed primarily for road driving, but with the ability to take off and fly away.
To drive on the road, the car uses four small motors in each of its wheels, and it will drive like a regular electric car. It contains eight propellers in front and behind the car, which rotate independently at different speeds to allow it to fly in any direction.
Aiming for launch in 2025
According to CNBC, the Model A weighs just 385 kilograms and therefore qualifies as a lightweight vehicle, meaning it falls under the same classification of small electric vehicles as golf carts. It should be easy to get approval for the vehicle.
The car must be able to fly at a speed of about 176 km/h, but cannot drive faster than approximately 40 km/h on the road.
“If all goes well, if we have enough financing, and the law does not worsen at least, but will remain the same, then we plan to start producing the first one by the end of 2025,” Dukhovny said. news agency.
Last year, the US Aviation Authority (FAA) granted the company a special certificate allowing for limited purposes including exhibition and research and development of flying cars.
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