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SAN MATEO, Calif. — A flying car being developed for both roadways and vertical takeoff and landing capabilities is now one step closer to becoming a reality after receiving a special approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Alef Aeronautics, based in San Mateo, California, has been developing the Model A flying car, which is 100% electric and will carry one or two occupants.

The company envisions the car, which costs roughly $300,000, saving individuals time during the commutes with the ability to fly over stopped traffic and accidents on roadways.

Don’t know where the nearest café is? Or if it will rain today? Or even the meaning of life? Fear not, ask your e-bike.

An avant-garde company in the cycling industry has found the solution to your long lonely rides.

Urtopia made waves at EUROBIKE 2023 with the introduction of the world’s first e-bike integrated with ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI that is all the rage right now.

July 3 (Reuters) — Tesla (TSLA.O) shares jumped about 7% on Monday after better-than-expected quarterly deliveries showed that Chief Executive Elon Musk’s plan of boosting volumes through discounts was working.

The day’s gains lifted the top U.S. electric-vehicle manufacturer’s market capitalization by around $57 billion to $887 billion.

At $277, the stock has already more than doubled in value this year and risen far above price targets set by analysts, prompting caution from some brokerages that margins will suffer because of the aggressive discounting spree.

July 3 (UPI) — A California startup announced its prototype flying car has been cleared for takeoff by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Alef Aeronautics said its “Model A” is the first flying vehicle that can drive on public roads and park like an average car to receive clearance for flight by the FAA.

The FAA confirmed the vehicle was given a special airworthiness certificate for purposes including research, development and exhibition.

China’s tit-for-tat trade war on technology with the US and Europe is escalating. Beijing has imposed restrictions on exporting two metals that are crucial to parts of the semiconductor, telecommunications and electric-vehicle industries. Stephen Engle reports on Bloomberg Television.
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The flying car is now available for preorder, the Santa Clara, California-based company posted on its website. Carrying one or two occupants, the vehicle will sell for about $300,000.

The “Model A” is 100% electric, drivable on public roads and has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, the company wrote in its release.

The car will be a Low Speed Vehicle, meaning it won’t go faster than about 25 miles per hour on a paved surface. If a driver needs a faster route, they will be able to use the vehicle’s flight capabilities, according to Alef.


Alef Aeronautics’ ‘Model A’ has a driving range of 200 miles and a flight range of 110 miles. The company plans to start delivering cars by late 2025.

The exit ramp is a long, curving slope, and you have to make sure the 50-foot big rig you’re driving carefully navigates the bend and doesn’t fly out of control at a high speed.

But the thing is, you’re not actually there. You’re in a room in Silicon Valley, watching the ramp unfold in front of you on several screens. That heavy load you’re carrying is thousands of miles away in Florida.

Welcome to teleoperated driving, or remote-controlled driving with a human in front of a steering wheel, brake, and gas pedals, and a “windshield” plastered with monitors. It’s a method that allows autonomous vehicles to operate without anyone inside. Instead, there’s a watchful remote driver, or operator,… More.


Driving a truck is really hard, Seltz-Axmacher admits. Doing it through remote control is maybe just as difficult, until you’ve had enough training. After attempting to remotely back up a 50-foot long trailer between two parked trucks, for instance, he said he returned to the professional truckers with his tail between his legs. On the flip side, long-time truck drivers still require practice for remote control driving and go through one-week trainings to get used to operating a truck from in front of a monitor instead of the road.

Phantom operator McCarter finds remote driving similar to traditional driving, since both are high-focus tasks. In the case of teleoperating, McCarter is only monitoring the situation. He says his actual driving sessions are usually shorter, popping in to solve an “edge case” — like if an autonomous delivery robot encounters an unexpected construction crew fixing a pothole. Then McCarter, who has been monitoring the ride, is alerted and he can jump in, get around the construction site, and hand the reins back to the autonomous bot.

Remote-controlled vehicles might also help us get used to autonomy. A Capgemini study (opens in a new tab) on autonomous car perceptions from last month found that about half of consumers trust self-driving cars to run errands for them or pick up and drop off friends and family members. Just under 50 percent of more than 5,500 consumers surveyed said self-driving cars invoke “fear.” It’s comforting knowing there’s a human right there who can take over, even if they’re miles away.