Alef Aeronautics, a SpaceX-backed startup, said it has received 2,850 pre-orders for its futuristic Alef Model A electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Alef Aeronautics, which is based in San Mateo, Calif, transmits CNBC. To place a pre-order, a deposit of $150 is required. Customers can withdraw the deposit at any time if they wish.
Alef plans to charge customers $300,000 for the Model A when it becomes commercially available — with these 2,850, the total value of orders today is over $850 million.
To date, we have over 2,850 pre-orders including deposits, making it the best-selling aircraft in history, more than Boeing, Airbus, Joby Aviation and most eVTOLs [electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft] combined.
— Alef CEO Jim Duchovny.
Alef is also working on a four-seater Model Z sedan, which is scheduled to be released by 2035 at a price of $35,000. Alef is backed by investors such as early Tesla investor and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The car uses four small motors in each of the wheels to drive on the road, and is supposed to drive like a regular electric car. It has eight propellers on the front and rear that can rotate independently at different speeds, allowing it to fly in any direction.
In the air, the Alef Model A should reach a cruising speed of 176 km/h, while on the road it is limited to 40-55 km/h.
After takeoff, the Alef Model A can turn on its side, with the cabin rotating so that the driver can continue to sit facing forward, and the car practically becomes a biplane, with the long side parts serving as upper and lower «wings».
The Alef Model A weighs 385 kg and qualifies as an ultralight vehicle, meaning it falls under the same legal classification as small electric vehicles such as golf carts. Dukhovny says this should make it easier for the car to pass key regulatory approvals to get the green light to start flying in 2025:
If everything goes right, we are planning, and if we have enough funding, if the law is at least not worse, it will exist as it is, we plan to start production of the first car by the end of 2025.
Last year, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued Alef a special airworthiness certificate, allowing it to use aircraft for limited purposes, including exhibitions, research, and development of the flying car. Alef still has to obtain further approvals to pave the way for consumer flights.