Alef Aeronautics, supported by SpaceX, has announced that they have received 2850 pre-orders for their futuristic electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the Alef Model A.
The company Alef Aeronautics is based in San Mateo, California, reports 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 orders, the total value of orders today exceeds $850 million.
As of today, we have more than 2,850 pre-orders including deposits, making it the best-selling aircraft in history, surpassing Boeing, Airbus, Joby Aviation, and most eVTOL [electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft] combined.
- Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny.
Alef is also working on a four-seater sedan, the Model Z, which is planned to be released by 2035 at a price of $35,000. Alef is supported by the same investors as early Tesla investor and SpaceX by Elon Musk's space company.
For road travel, the car uses four small engines in each of the wheels, and should drive like a regular electric car. It has eight propellers at the front and rear, which can rotate independently at different speeds, allowing it to fly in any direction.
In the air, the Alef Model A is expected to 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 face forward, and the car practically becomes a biplane, with long side parts serving as upper and lower "wings".
The Alef Model A weighs 385 kg and is classified as an ultralight transport vehicle, falling under the same legal classification as small electric vehicles such as golf carts. Dukhovny says that this should facilitate the car's passage through key regulatory approvals to obtain the green light for flights to begin in 2025:
If all goes well, we plan, and if we have enough funding, if the law is at least not worse, it will exist in the form it is, we plan to start production of the first car by the end of 2025.
Last year, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued Alef a special airworthiness certificate, allowing the use of aircraft for limited purposes, including exhibitions, research, and development of a flying car. Alef still needs to obtain further approvals to pave the way for consumer flights.
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