The dream of flying cars has been around for decades. The Jetsons cartoon had us all dreaming about robot butlers, jetpacks, and, of course, flying cars. The show was supposed to be set in an imaginary 2062, but our 2025 technology is bringing those dreams to life.
A California startup called Alef Aeronautics says it has officially begun manufacturing what it calls the world’s first flying car, with customer deliveries expected as early as 2026. The vehicle, known as the Alef Model A Ultralight, can lift straight up, fly over traffic, land, and then drive away like a very expensive regular car. It sounds fake. It apparently isn’t.
“We are happy to report that production of the first flying car has started on schedule,” Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny said in a statement shared by PR Newswire. “We’re finally able to get production off the ground.”
The Model A is being built at Alef’s facility in Silicon Valley and runs entirely on electric power. It’s designed for short-range urban use, with a driving range of about 220 miles and a flight range of roughly 110 miles, according to the company. When airborne, the car uses eight independently spinning rotors hidden inside a mesh-like body. On the ground, it relies on four electric motors housed in the wheels.
Alef says the vehicle doesn’t need a runway or heliport, which helps explain why the company insists this isn’t just another small aircraft with wheels attached. Unlike the eVTOL designs pitched by automakers like BMW and Hyundai, the Model A is intended to function as a street-legal car first and a flying vehicle second.
That versatility comes at a price. The Model A currently lists for about $300,000, placing it firmly in “tech demo for rich people” territory. Early buyers won’t just be customers. They’ll be test subjects. Alef says the first group of owners will help trial the vehicle in real-world conditions before the company moves toward broader production.
The company has been working toward this moment for nearly a decade. Alef revealed its first prototype years ago, unveiled the Model A publicly in 2022, and earlier this year released footage showing the car lifting itself off the ground, hovering over a truck, and landing again. That video did what marketing videos tend to do. It made people want one.
According to multiple reports, Alef has already logged more than 3,500 pre-orders, totaling close to $1 billion. That number is very American. Plenty of people want the future. A smaller number can afford it.
Flying cars won’t fix traffic, housing, or infrastructure anytime soon. They won’t replace trains or buses. What they do signal is something simpler. The long-promised future keeps arriving in uneven, expensive pieces. This one just happens to hover.
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