Alef Aeronautics, a flying car startup backed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, recently announced that its electric-powered flying car successfully took off on a public road.
Alef Aeronautics' flying car looks like a regular vehicle, unlike other companies that manufacture products that resemble small planes or helicopters. It can even maintain its original vehicle appearance during takeoff and claims to convert all kinetic energy into electricity. Its maximum road driving distance can reach 220 miles (about 354.06 kilometers), and its maximum flight distance can reach 110 miles (about 177.03 kilometers).
The flying car built by Alef Aeronautics adopts a very simple mechanical structure and uses a mesh structure to significantly reduce the weight of the vehicle body, making it easier to take off from a stationary position and complete short-distance flight movement, thereby solving problems such as daily traffic jams that affect travel.
The flying car built by Alef Aeronautics is now available for pre-order. Generally, you only need to pre-order for US$150, or pre-order for priority delivery for US$1500. The suggested retail price is as high as US$29 (approximately NT$9999). Users in Taiwan can also place pre-orders.
It is said that Alef Aeronautics has received 3300 orders for this flying car, but whether it can actually be used on the road or even perform short-distance low-altitude flights seems to depend on local transportation regulations.
In the past, Google co-founder Larry Page also invested inKitty Hawk, a new flying car startup, but ultimately faced closure due to internal factors and failure to find a way to make a profit, and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi used toBluntlyFlying cars will become popular in the United States and can solve traffic congestion problems.
However, before investing in Alef Aeronautics, Elon Musk actuallycriticismFlying cars are not environmentally friendly and may cause more problems, so investors may change their minds later and choose to invest in Alef Aeronautics.
