Flying cars are no longer just for the movies. Alef Aeronautics has begun building the first electric flying cars for customers, which are being hand-made in California.

Electric flying cars are real and hand-made in the US

It sounds like something from The Jetsons or Harry Potter, but flying cars are becoming a reality. Alef has been developing all-electric flying cars for about a decade now.

After unveiling a prototype in 2016, the company secured backing from early Tesla and Bitcoin investor Tim Draper. Draper became a pioneering investor and mentor to the team.

The big funding round propelled Alef to create not just a toy, but a flying car that can be used as an everyday commute vehicle.

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In 2018, the company’s first full-size “skeleton” was flown, and the following year, the first prototype was shown to a group of investors.

Alef introduced its first model, dubbed the Model A, in 2022, a 100% electric flying car that can drive 220 miles with a 110-mile flight range.

Less than a year later, it became the first to receive a Special Airworthiness Certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration while securing its first pre-orders from a car dealership.

We got our first look at the flying car in action earlier this year after Alef released a video of an ultralight Model A jumping over other vehicles, including a Tesla Cybertruck (see the video below). According to Alef, it was the “first-ever video in history of a car driving and vertically taking off.”

In its mission to make flying cars a reality, the California-based startup announced another major milestone on Monday.

Alef said it has begun manufacturing the first flying cars for customers at its facility in Silicon Valley, California. The first models are being hand-made and will be delivered to just a few early customers “for the purpose of testing flying cars in the real world environment,” according to Alef.

The company plans to train and support early adopters, using lessons learned as it ramps up production and deliveries.

“We are happy to report that production of the first flying car has started on schedule,” Alef’s CEO, Jim Dukhovny, said at the event.

Alef claims its flying cars are “100% electric, drivable on public roads, and has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities.”

The startup has already received 3,500 pre-orders, which it says is worth $1 billion. Alef’s flying car is expected to start at around $299,999. You can pre-order one on Alef’s website with a $150 deposit, or you can secure a spot in the priority queue for $1,500. The first customer deliveries are expected to begin in 2026.

Ford is promising that more affordable EVs are coming soon. A new partnership will include two Ford-branded electric vehicles, but that’s just the start.

Ford and Renault partner up on affordable EVs

“We know we’re in a fight for our lives,” Ford’s CEO Jim Farley warned on Monday (via CNN) before announcing a landmark partnership with Renault to develop more affordable EVs and fend off surging Chinese brands like BYD and SAIC’s MG.

Ford said the new partnership is “a first step,” as part of a broader restructuring in the region. The plans include two new Ford-branded EVs, based on Renault’s Ampere platform.

Although they will share underpinnings with the popular Renault 5, the American automaker will lead the design to “ensure these vehicles are distinctly Ford.”

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The first is expected to be an electric successor to the widely popular Fiesta, while the second is rumoured to be a small EV crossover, similar to the Renault 4.

Ford didn’t offer specifics, but said the first vehicles will begin arriving in showrooms in 2028. Farley told reporters that the new EVs will be smaller than anything planned for the US, as it seeks to fill a critical gap in its European lineup.

“As an American company, we see Europe as the frontline in the global transformation of our industry,” Farley said, adding that “how we compete here will write the playbook for the next generation.”

The partnership will also include jointly developing Ford and Renault-branded commercial vehicles using common platforms.

Ford’s current EV lineup in Europe consists of the Electric Explorer and Capri, which share a platform with the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5, and the Puma Gen E.

The news comes just a day after Farley warned that the EU’s emissions rules are “risking the future” of the auto industry.

Electrek’s Take

Ford initially backed the EU’s push to have all-electric vehicle sales in the region by 2035, but now it’s blaming slower-than-expected EV demand and calling for looser rules.

Farley has warned several times now that Chinese automakers, like BYD, are an “existential threat” to the auto industry. As part of its restructuring, Ford has already announced plans to cut thousands of jobs in Europe while reducing output at its Cologne EV facility.

Ford’s share of European passenger car sales has plummeted from 6.1% in 2019 to just 3.3% through October of this year.

Although the company is blaming slower EV demand, electric vehicles are still gaining ground in Europe. Through October 2025, nearly 1.5 million EVs were registered in Europe, accounting for 16.4% of the market. That’s up from around 13.2% through the first 10 months of 2024.

Meanwhile, the combined share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 36.6% from 46.3% over the same period.

Are EV sales slowing? Or, is it a Ford problem? The new alliance with Renault to build more affordable EVs will be critical to Ford’s comeback in the region.