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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 is based in San Mateo, California, reports CNBC. A $150 deposit is required to pre-order. Customers can withdraw the deposit at any time if they want.
Alef plans to charge customers $300,000 for the Model A when it becomes commercially available — including those 2,850, the total order value today is more than $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 [электрических летательных аппаратов вертикального взлета и посадки] taken together
– Alef CEO Jim Duchovny.
Alef is also working on the Model Z, a four-seater sedan that is slated for release by 2035 at a price of $35,000. Alef is backed by the same investors as early investor Tesla and Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX.
To move on the road, the car uses four small motors in each of the wheels, and should drive like a conventional electric car. It has eight propellers on the front and back 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 flip onto its side, with the cockpit pivoting so that the driver can continue to face forward, and the vehicle effectively becomes a biplane, with the long side sections as the 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. Duchovny 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 plan, and if we have enough funding, if the law is at least not worse, it exists as 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 certificate of airworthiness, 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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