PREVIEW

**VIDEO AVAILABLE: CONTACT INFO@COVERMG.COM TO RECEIVE**

BY MARK WORGAN

Elon Musk has been celebrating Tesla’s new Roadster’s debut ‘flight’ but he is in fact quite a way behind the competition in the race to create the world’s first true flying car.

That’s because Alef Aeronautics own flying car, the Alef Model Zero Ultralight, has already logged its 1,000th flight - cheekily taken over a host of Tesla vehicles.

Unlike Tesla’s showpiece event, Alef’s achievement did not prompt any scepticism over the length of flights or claims of visual trickery.

That’s because in 2023, Alef received FAA Special Airworthiness Certification, making its vehicle the first true flying car recognised by the US government.

Responding to the new competition as the current leader in the race to build a flying car, Jim Dukhovny, CEO of Alef said he hoped the two firms could help each other.

“Welcome Tesla to the flying car race, we’ve been here alone for eleven years,” he quipped. “Having competition is a good thing, especially from such a major company as Tesla. It proves the market, establishes a separate flying car category, creates industry for lobbying specific regulations, brings investor focus, helps compare technology, and creates a benchmark to measure against. We had to fight our battles alone for eleven years, so we welcome Tesla Roadster to the family.”

The Model Zero Ultralight offers the ability to drive, park, and use automotive infrastructure like any other car. Importantly, this feature is for all models rather than an ‘invite only’ ‘flying’ version of the Tesla, which will not be for road use.

At around $300,000, the Alef is also only marginally pricier to own than the $250,000 reported cost to merely put a deposit down for a roadster.

While both vehicles use electric powertrains for driving, and are all-wheel drive, for vertical takeoff Alef uses distributed electric propulsion (DEP), while the Roadster is scheduled to use thrusters. Alef uses a wing-forming body, rotating cabin, and use of surrounding air rather than Roadster’s stored compressed gas for lift. Alef is more lightweight, allowing for a full-vehicle ballistic parachute.

Most strikingly for those looking to actually buy a flying car, Tesla’s Roadster has yet to go through a multi-year FAA Type Certification, while Alef’s current model is already FAA Ultralight conformant, requiring no FAA certification.

In fact, Model Zero sightings in the wild might not be that far away - as Alef has received 3,600 pre-orders worth more than $1 billion.