Tesla's (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has been an innovator in aerospace and automotive ventures since launching his rocket and spacecraft venture SpaceX in 2002 and electric vehicle company Tesla in 2003.
Musk has also created scientific company Neuralink, which is developing brain-computer implants, and established the Boring Co., an infrastructure and tunnel construction services company that seeks to build transportation solutions.
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The billionaire CEO has already been successful in his businesses as Tesla is the EV industry's leading company in production and sales, and SpaceX is considered by many to be the leader in private space exploration launching satellites, cargo and astronauts into space.
Musk's SpaceX developed the first liquid fuel rocket to reach orbit and Starship, a fully reusable transportation system with a goal to revisit the Moon and eventually land people on Mars, which had a first test flight on April 20.
Elon Musk Reveals a Flying Tesla
Musk has had success separately with his EV and space companies, and in 2019 he said Tesla was building a flying car, Esquire reported. Last year, Musk revealed a Tesla flying vehicle, but the company has not began marketing or selling such a vehicle.
Last year, Swedish company Jetson, which took its name from the 1960's cartoon that featured flying vehicles, released its first flying vehicle, an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle or eVTOL, that it said would sell for $98,000. The vehicle is described as an aluminum and carbon-fiber aircraft powered by eight electric motors, with a top speed of about 63 mph (101 kph), and a flight time of about 20 minutes. Licenses are not required to fly the aircraft in the US, the company said.
Tesla Chinese rival Xpeng's (XPEV) flying car unit Xpeng Aeroht in January received a special flight permit in China for its two-seater X2 flying EV, the first in China to apply and receive such a permit, China Daily reported.
Alef Aeronautics
Alef Aeronautics Has a $300,000 Flying Car
While it's questionable whether Tesla will ever sell a flying car, rivals who plan to sell them keep appearing. San Mateo, Calif.-based Alef Aeronautics is the latest eVTOL maker that plans to sell flying cars before Tesla does with a $300,000 price tag on its Model A vehicle.
Alef unveiled a Model A prototype in October 2022 that it said would have a 200-mile driving range and 110-mile flying range. The Model A is all-electric, drivable on public roads and has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. The car can carry one or two occupants.
The company began taking orders on its website in October 2022. Applicants can either pay a regular $150 deposit for purchase or $1,500 for priority that should deliver a vehicle sooner than the lower priced deposit. The company had 440 reservations by the end of 2022. The delivery date for the Model A has not been revealed yet.
The company's CEO Jim Dukhovny said the company could have a Model Z by 2030 that would have longer driving and flying ranges and sell for $35,000 but only require a drone license, CNET reported.
Alef reached a milestone on June 27 that no one, has matched as the Federal Aviation Administration granted the EV company a Special Airworthiness Certification as the first such vehicle to receive legal approval to fly from the US government, according to a statement. The permit limits the locations and purposes for which Alef is permitted to fly.
"We're excited to receive this certification from the FAA," Dukhovny said. "It allows us to move closer to bringing people an environmentally friendly and faster commute, saving individuals and companies hours each week. This is a one small step for planes, one giant step for cars."
