FAA Approves Flight Tests For Flying Car Set To Retail For $300K

Plenty of notable minds have attempted to predict what the “future” we’re currently living in was going to look like, but it’s safe to say we’re a long way from the world prophesized by the likes of The Jetsons and the second installment of the Back to the Future franchise.

One of the biggest staples of the technological utopia humanity was supposed to be occupying by now were the flying cars that effortlessly ferry people to various destinations while soaring above the roads we’d theoretically be able to reclaim, but that hasn’t turned out to be the case.

With that said, there are plenty of companies that have done what they can to make progress on that front, including one “flying car” (which is really just a glorified airplane) that successfully completed its maiden voyage in 2021.

The people who helped make that short but nonetheless impressive voyage possible are far from the only ones in the flying car space, and now, a new challenger has hit a big milestone as it gears up to bring its product to the (wealthy) masses within the next couple of years.

According to Insider, Alef Aeronautics has received approval from the FAA to conduct flight tests for the vehicle it’s dubbed the “Model A,” a sleek (and apparently wingless) electric car capable of vertical takeoff that it hopes to begin shipping to customers in 2025.

The outlet reports Alef’s flying car could travel up to 110 miles in the air on a single charge (a number that rises to 200 when travel is restricted to the ground) and asserts it has attracted a “strong” amount of interest for pre-orders despite the fact that it plans to sell the vehicle for a whopping $300,000.

The Model A still has plenty of hurdles to clear before it attempts to usher in a new era of travel, but if things go according to plan, the future could be here sooner than you think.