Flying car developer Alef Aeronautics Inc. has gotten the green light to begin flight tests of its vehicle.
The San Mateo startup has secured a permit from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin testing its Model A, it said Monday. The Model A is the first vehicle designed to both fly and drive on ordinary roads to gain such an approval, according to the startup.
Of the same size and shape as a regular car with wheels that allow it to go on streets, the Model A has a system of rotors under its mesh-like skin designed to propel it in the air and allow it take off and land vertically. The company envisions the vehicle using its flying feature to navigate above traffic-locked roads and highways.
The permit "allows us to move closer to bringing people an environmentally friendly and faster commute, saving individuals and companies hours each week," Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny said in a press release. "This is a one small step for planes, one giant step for cars."
The FAA issued the permit June 12, agency spokesman Donnell Evans said in an email. The permit restricts Alef to only flying the Model A for research and exhibition purposes, Evans said.
Alef's 'flying car'
Unveiled by the company in October, the electric-powered Model A is expected to fly 110 miles or drive 200 miles on a full charge. For driving purposes, Alef expects to certify it as a low-speed vehicle, meaning it wouldn't be permitted to go faster than 25 miles per hour on paved roads.
"The assumption is that, if a driver needs a faster route, a driver will use Alef's flight capabilities," the startup says on its website.
Alef expects to sell the vehicle, which will seat one to two people in a bubble-like cabin, for $300,000 a piece. Consumers can pre-order one for $150 to get in the general queue or $1,500 to be in the priority group.
Inspired by the flying car in the "Back To The Future" films, Alef's founders established it in 2015 to turn fiction into reality. The company began testing and operating a full-sized prototype vehicle in 2018.
Since its founding, Alef has raised about $14 million in venture funding and is valued at $21.4 million, according to PitchBook Data. Among its backers are Draper Associates and Santa Clara Ventures, according to PitchBook.
While the Model A is the reputedly the first flying car to get an FAA flight test permit, it's only the latest eVTOL to secure one. Last week, Joby announced that it had received a similar permit from the FAA to begin flight tests of the first production prototype of its air taxi vehicle. Unlike the Model A, Joby's aircraft is only designed to fly, not to drive on roads.
