World's first flying car begins production as Alef Model A Ultralight enters hand-assembly in Silicon Valley
Alef Aeronautics starts hand-crafting its roadable electric flying car for test customers while pursuing mass production.
The world's first flying car has entered production, as Alef Aeronautics confirmed that the Model A Ultralight is being hand-assembled in Silicon Valley. The all-electric vehicle, priced at about £235,000, can drive on roads and, with eight propellers hidden in its boot and bonnet, take off to fly over traffic. The company says the initial batch will be delivered to a small number of customers for real-world testing before a broader roll-out.
On the ground, the Model A uses four small motors in each wheel to drive and is built with a carbon-fibre mesh body that houses the propellers around the cabin. The car weighs about 385 kilograms (850 pounds) and measures roughly five metres by two metres, with the eight propellers providing thrust for flight at a cruising speed around 110 mph (177 km/h). Alef says the vehicle seats the pilot and one passenger and can travel about 200 miles (321 kilometres) on the ground and about 110 miles (177 kilometres) in the air. The Ultralight version is designed to meet legal classifications that restrict on-road speed to 25 mph (40 km/h), even as it can reach higher speeds in the air. The company says each car will take several months to hand-craft and thoroughly test before delivery.
Alef received airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2023 and has since stacked up demand, reporting roughly 3,500 pre-orders valued at more than £800 million. The company stresses that initial customers will fly only under highly controlled conditions and must complete training in compliance and maintenance before first flights. Production today relies on a combination of robotics, industrial tooling and skilled hand finishing, with many components subjected to extensive testing and multiple test flights before release.
Jim Dukhovny, the founder and CEO, said the start of production marks progress toward making a roadable flying car available to the public, though the company has acknowledged that scaling to mass production remains a challenge. Alef’s current approach foresees gradually automating the manufacturing process for the full-size Model A in the future, but for now the limited run will keep the product in a controlled environment. The broader field of electric mobility is being shaped by advances in electric motors, battery technology and autonomous software, with several startups and established manufacturers pursuing urban air-services that blend ground travel with flight.