Alef Aeronautics, a startup backed by SpaceX, has announced that it has received 2850 pre-orders for its futuristic electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) Alef Model A.
The company Alef Aeronautics is based in San Mateo, California, as reported by 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.
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 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 Elon Musk's SpaceX.
For road travel, the vehicle uses four small motors in each wheel and should drive like a regular electric car. It has eight propellers at the front and back that can rotate independently at different speeds, allowing it to fly in any direction.
In the air, Alef Model A is expected to have a cruising speed of 176 km/h, while on the road it is limited to 40-55 km/h.
After takeoff, Alef Model A can turn on its side, with the cabin rotating so that the driver can continue facing forward, and the vehicle virtually becomes a biplane, with the long side parts serving as upper and lower "wings".
Alef Model A weighs 385 kg and is classified as a super-lightweight vehicle, falling under the same legal classification as small electric cars like golf carts. Dukhovny says this should facilitate the vehicle's passage through key regulatory approvals to get the green light for flights to begin in 2025:
If everything goes well, we plan, and if we have enough funding, if the law at least doesn't get worse, it will exist as it is, we plan to start production of the first vehicle by the end of 2025.
Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration issued Alef a special airworthiness certificate, allowing the aircraft to be used for limited purposes, including exhibitions, research, and development of the flying car. Alef still needs further approvals to pave the way for consumer flights.
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