First-Ever Flying Car Successfully Achieves Flight In California

Based on a number of popular movies and shows, we should already have flying cars by now. And while the average person certainly doesn’t have one, that reality might not be as far off as you think. A California-based company, Alef Aeronautics, recently revealed what they’re calling an “ultralight” version of their Alef Model Zero.

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This flying car is made to take off vertically, and it did just that during a test run. According to the company, this was the very first publicly released video of a car driving and taking off vertically. Check out this mind-blowing moment for yourself in the video below.

Jim Dukhovny, CEO of Alef Aeronautics, was quick to acknowledge doubts people may have about flying cars, including the cost.

“Right now for most people, for the general consumer, it’s prohibitively expensive because it’s expensive for us to produce one,” Jim explains. “… The end goal, it should be actually same level or less expensive than Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus or anything like that, because it’s less complex.”

The idea is that, by making flying cars common, traffic will be alleviated on the ground. Jim also says that this method of transportation could make trickier rescue situations easier on first responders. All this said, Jim believes that we’re still a long ways off from making these dreams of his a reality. Though, he hopes this first flight video has a lasting impact.

“We really hope that it will have a similar impact as the Wright Brothers video, in the sense that it proves to humanity that the new mode of transportation is possible,” he says. “It has the independently verifiable proof that this new mode of transportation does work and does exist. And we hope it will start some kind of a new market, new economy for this new mode of transportation, which we call flying cars.”

You can find the source of this story’s featured image here!