Alef Aeronautics' composites-intensive flying car enters production phase

Alef Aeronautics (San Mateo, Calif., U.S.) announced in December 2025 that it has begun production of its Model A Ultralight, a composites-intensive, all-electric vehicle designed to drive on public roads and take off vertically — what the company calls the first true “flying car” to reach production.

The vehicle will be hand-assembled at Alef’s Silicon Valley facility using a combination of robotic and manual manufacturing processes, with each unit expected to take several months to complete. Initial units will go to a small number of early customers — selected from the top of the pre-order queue — for real-world, controlled testing, with the data used to optimize manufacturing ahead of the larger, flagship Model A.

The Model A Ultralight features vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability and a distinctive airframe design: once airborne, the vehicle’s chassis rotates 90 degrees so that the front and rear of the car form two wings, with the mesh body allowing airflow through the structure during flight. Flying Magazine highlighted in its original reporting that the production model is designed for a driver-pilot plus one passenger, with a ground range of approximately 200 miles and an air range of 110 miles. The company is exploring light-sport aircraft (LSA) certification for the Model A under the Federal Aviation Administration’s updated MOSAIC framework, in addition to an initial “low-speed vehicle” road classification limiting ground speeds to approximately 25 miles per hour.

Since CW last reported on Alef in 2023 — when the company received a special airworthiness certificate from the FAA for limited exhibition, research and development flights — the company has reached several notable milestones. In February 2025, Alef released footage of its Model Zero Ultralight prototype completing a tethers-free vertical takeoff over a city street in San Mateo, California. Alef subsequently signed flight testing agreements with Half Moon Bay Airport (KHAF) and Hollister Municipal Airport (KCVH) in California, with plans to eventually use those facilities as bases for Model A fleets.

Alef says it will conduct rigorous component-level and full-aircraft flight testing before any customer deliveries. Flight testing at KHAF and KCVH will begin with the Model Zero Ultralight before progressing to the Model Zero and ultimately the Model A, with the vehicles demonstrating driving, VTOL and fixed-wing flight to simulate standard air traffic patterns.