![Alef welcomes Tesla to the electric flying car race by flying over the Roadster [Video]](https://www.mogazmasr.com/uploads/2026/10/16/flying-cars-3fb99db0_800w.webp)
Alef on Thursday released a video showing its flying car flying over a Tesla Roadster, turning a long-running niche project into a public challenge to Tesla’s new entry. The company said the Roadster has now become the second flying car in history, after Alef, and said the flight marked its 1,000th logged flight.
The timing mattered because Tesla had just put the Roadster back in the spotlight, and Alef answered by framing the comparison as a race it says it has already been running for years. Jim Dukhovny said, “Welcome, Tesla, to the flying car race; we’ve been here alone for eleven years,” and added that the moment proves the market, creates a separate category, draws investor focus and gives the industry a benchmark to measure against.
Alef’s pitch is that the comparison is not just visual theater. The company developed its first flying-car prototype in 2019 and revealed the Model A in 2022, saying it can drive 220 miles and fly 110 miles. In 2023, Alef said the vehicle received FAA Special Airworthiness Certification, and the company says it has since collected more than 3,600 pre-orders worth $1 billion.
That is the friction point in Alef’s public framing: it says its vehicle is already a real flying car recognized by the US government, while Tesla’s Roadster still faces FAA Type Certification before it can fly. Alef also draws a line between its own design and Tesla’s, saying its vehicle uses distributed electric propulsion, while the Roadster is expected to use thrusters. Both vehicles are electric and all-wheel drive, and Alef says both companies share the same early investor, Tim Draper.
Alef began hand-building customer vehicles in December and expects the first batch to go to a limited number of early buyers by the end of 2026, with production ramping in 2027 as it trains new owners. The company says its first flying car is expected to start at $299,999, with pre-orders available for a $150 deposit or a $1,500 priority queue spot. For now, the question is not whether Alef can keep making the case that it is ahead. It is whether Tesla can turn a flashy unveiling into a flying machine that survives the long road to certification.
