Alef flying car firm teases Tesla as Nigeria’s Ben Bruce holds a pre-order
The Alef flying car has become the centre of a playful public rivalry with Tesla, after California-based Alef Aeronautics posted a video of its electric Model A passing over a Tesla Roadster and a Cybertruck. The company also has a link to Nigeria: business magnate Ben Murray-Bruce, founder of Silverbird Group, has publicly said he pre-ordered one.
A jab at Tesla
Alef’s post came hours after Tesla unveiled its new Roadster. The caption read: “Welcome Tesla to the flying car race; we’ve been here alone for eleven years.” Alef also described the new Roadster as “the second flying car in history.”
Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny said his company had been alone in the race for 11 years.
Tesla Roadster
Two very different approaches
Beyond the banter, the engineering differs sharply, according to the source material. Alef says its vehicle uses distributed electric rotors for sustained vertical flight, and it holds a special airworthiness certificate from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Tesla’s approach, as described in the source, relies on compressed air tanks for short bursts and stunts rather than sustained flight. That description comes from the source and has not been independently verified here.
Alef describes itself as a sustainable electric transportation company building a street-drivable vehicle capable of vertical takeoff.
The FAA certification
The FAA granted Alef a limited Special Airworthiness Certification, allowing its two-seater Model A to fly legally in the United States. The news was first shared by Autojosh.
“We’re excited to receive this certification from the FAA,” Dukhovny said. He added that it “allows us to move closer to bringing people an environmentally friendly and faster commute, saving individuals and companies hours each week.”
He also said: “This is one small step for planes, one giant step for cars.”
The Nigerian connection
In July 2023, days after the certification news, Ben Bruce announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he had pre-ordered the Alef Model A, which he called the first FAA-approved flying electric car. The vehicle can carry one to two occupants above traffic.
“For years, I’ve been an advocate for electric vehicles, and I was the first to own one in Nigeria,” he wrote. “Africa, we rise!” He added that he hoped the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was ready for the technology.
What it costs
Alef lists a projected starting price of $300,000 for the Model A. Pre-orders are structured in two tiers: “Priority Queue” reservations cost $1,500, while “General Queue” reservations cost $150, according to figures reported when Ben Bruce made his announcement in 2023.
The FAA certificate is limited, so it does not mean flying cars are ready for ordinary roads or skies. For Nigeria, the key question is regulatory. The NCAA has not been reported to have set out any framework for vehicles that drive and fly, and it is unclear when a Nigerian customer could take delivery or legally operate one. Whether Tesla’s Roadster will ever match Alef’s sustained flight also remains to be seen.
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