FAA clears first flying car. Meet the Florida-based company that could have the second
The world still doesn't have a sustainable, widespread method for recycling used electric vehicle batteries on a scale large enough to support the droves of EVs hitting the market.
But that hasn't stopped some auto industry startups from speeding past issues with EVs on the ground and reaching for the sky — literally.
The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared the world's first flying car for a test drive and test fly. But the second one could be developed by a Florida startup aiming to bring its techy transportation to market.
Who made the first FAA-cleared flying car?
In 2019, California-based startup Alef Aeronautics flew a prototype of the flying car model — that it had been conceptualizing and perfecting since 2015 — for a small group of investors, in an attempt to land more funding for it's flying semi-autonomous vehicle tech.
The test flight in 2019 wasn't as much a flight as it was a short demonstration: they demonstrated that the car could drive, complete a vertical takeoff and move forward a small distance in the air.
Now, Alef has pulled in around $3 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. One of the flying car company's biggest investors is none other than Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX.
Last week, about four years after that small demonstration for investors, Alef Aeronautics has announced that its "Model A" flying electric car is the first vehicle to receive a Special Airworthiness Certification from the FAA.
After it's confirmed that the vehicle meets National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration safety standards, Alef's Model A will be the first flying car granted legal clearance to complete a test run, both on the road and in the sky.
Which Florida company is developing a flying car?
Alef Aeronautics isn't the only electric vehicle startup with its eyes on the sky, it's just the first one to be FAA-approved for test drives.
According to an April 2022 report from Business Insider, the urban air mobility market has been raking in significant funding since 2021 and could be worth more than $1 trillion by 2040.
One of the startups looking to break into America's emerging air mobility market is starting in Florida's skies. Based near Fort Lauderdale in Pompano Beach, Doroni Aerospace was founded in 2016 and has since completed more than 50 test flights of its first electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, or flying car, at its facilities.
Doroni brought in over $3.5 million in its first round of funding, crowdsourced from over 1,900 investors. The startup now has around $3.8 million in funding.
The startup doesn't just have support from waves of investors, though. It's gained aid in resources like land, facilities and tooling from Space Florida, a state agency that works to preserve Florida's position in the aerospace industry. Doroni is also backed by the City of Pompano Beach and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance.
When can you buy a flying car?
Like with most startup technology, it could be a while before we see flying cars available to the public and the first models will be pricey. Both Alef and Doroni hope to have their eVTOLs launch commercially by 2025.
You can preorder an Alef or Doroni flying car on the companies' websites. The price tag for the first Alef flying car is listed at $299,999 on the startup's website. Doroni's first commercially-available model is expected to hover between $250,000 and $300,000.
What other companies are creating flying cars?
Here's a short list of startups expected to make significant impacts on the emerging air mobility market in the U.S.
Alef Aeronautics - San Mateo, California
Doroni Aerospace - Pompano Beach, Florida
Joby Aviation - Marina, California
Archer Aviation - Palo Alto, California
Jaunt Air Mobility - Dallas, Texas
Lianna Norman covers trending news in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at lnorman@pbpost.com. You can follow her reporting on social media @LiannaNorman on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Flying cars are here, kind of. Which startups are behind the breakthrough?
