U.S. startup Alef Aeronautics has announced that test operations of its all-electric flying car, the Model A, have begun at Half Moon Bay and Hollister airports in California.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in California, Alef has been developing flying cars for nearly a decade. In 2017, the company secured $3 million in seed funding from Draper Associates after presenting its prototype to Tim Draper, an early investor in Tesla and SpaceX.

In 2022, Alef unveiled the Model A prototype and became the first flying car project to receive a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) within a year.

The Model A is designed for both road and air travel, with a driving range of 220 miles (354 km) and a flight range of 110 miles (177 km). Supporting vertical takeoff and landing, the car was showcased in a video earlier this year, where it drove on a road before lifting off vertically.

Alef has signed agreements with Half Moon Bay and Hollister airports to test its vehicles in real traffic patterns, starting with the Model Zero Ultralight before expanding to additional variants and the commercial Model A series. The airports are expected to serve as operational hubs for future flying car fleets.

So far, the company has received over 3,300 pre-orders, with prices starting at $300,000. Customers can reserve a unit with a $150 deposit or join the priority queue with a $1,500 payment. Pre-production models are already being built in California, with customer deliveries expected to begin next year.