Watch first flying car to actually fly: Video goes viral on social media

A US-based startup has successfully tested a flying car which was seen taking off in California in a video that has now gone viral on social media. The company Alef Aeronautics was seen testing its Model Zero, a drive-and-fly prototype, recently on a public road. The video shows the Model Zero, which looks more like a car from science fiction movies, taking off with all four wheels and flying over a parked car on the ground before landing again.

The Model Zero is a fully electric vehicle under testing by the company. Alef Aeronautics also plans to launch the first model soon. It says that it has received more than 3,000 pre-orders so far. Alef is planning to put the model into production by 2026.

The startup said that the test was conducted with with all safety measures in place. The company ensured that the public road was closed for everyone else with no people under or near the flight path of the flying car.

First video of a flying car taking off

The video released by the startup of the flying car test is the first ever in history of a car driving and vertically taking off, according to the company. "This drive and flight test represents an important proof of technology in a real-world city environment. We hope it will be a moment similar to the Wright Brothers' Kitty Hawk video, proving to humanity that new transportation is possible," said Jim Dukhovny, CEO of Alef.

Flying Cars Are Here!

Back to the Future predicted them for 2015. It didn't happen. But now we're getting closer.

The dream of flying above traffic is becoming real.

Alef Aeronautics is making this happen with their Model A. pic.twitter.com/NeKgH4lREf

— Alex / AI Experiments (@byalexai) February 24, 2025

Only few details about the Model Zero are available. It is a single seater electric car which has vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL). The company claims the EV has a driving range of 322 kms in a single charge. It also comes with a flying range of 1777 kms. Among safety features, the flying car comes with Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), multiple redundancies in key components, real-time diagnostics, obstacle detection, glide landing capabilities and a full-vehicle ballistic parachute.

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