The electric flying car race with Tesla and Alef Aeronautics

Up a vertical wall, into the air, and back down to Earth. Tesla's new Roadster was unveiled on Thursday at a test site in Texas. The flying sports car was developed with Elon Musk's rocket company, SpaceX. The car can recharge its air tank, so it's not like you... You know, it needs special propellant or anything like that. It literally is just going to pop itself up and be able to do these maneuvers whenever you'd like. Equipped with compressed air thrusters, the Roadster performs airborne stunts. Tesla says it can go from zero to 60 in under a second. California startup Aleph Aeronautics takes a different approach. A flying car that lifts off like a giant drone. With a single charge, the Aleph Model A has a flying range of 177 kilometers and is priced at nearly $300,000. You would, from your parking spot, your driveway, wherever you park your car, you will fly to your work or some other destination, land there and so on. Its design has caught the attention of aerospace engineers. In my opinion, by far the most spectacular feature of this car is an absence, an absence of wings. There are none. And to see something like that fly in the air is quite spectacular and mind-boggling. Flying cars may no longer be science fiction, but questions remain about safety, affordability, and whether consumers are ready to take to the skies. In Los Angeles, opinions are divided over the technology. It's safer because the roads here are in bad condition and the streets are very narrow. Up in the air, there's less chance of having an accident than down here on the ground. But not everyone is ready to leave the ground. But if you were having me drive this one, flying in the sky, yeah, I'd have fear because I'd already be thinking it's going to crash, it's going to fall. Despite those concerns, flying taxis could serve the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics. U.S. company Archer Aviation plans passenger flights between key locations during the Games. Last year, China approved operators of electric aircraft for commercial passenger flights, a milestone reached ahead of the United States. So China has certified first and is building out the order book. They've got the factories. They're building out the infrastructure. There is an incredible amount of cooperation, coordination, and consensus building. Amongst government, industry, and academia. From California to Beijing, companies are pushing to make flying cars a reality. But everyday transportation could still be years away. For now, the race to take to the skies is just beginning. Martin Markiewicz, CGTN, Los Angeles, California.