The company’s electric air taxis are getting closer to commercial launch.
Joby Aviation (NASDAQ:JOBY) stock was flying high on Wednesday, soaring more than 28% to make it the day’s top gainer.
The company, which builds electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft, or air taxis, has been growing rapidly, with its stock up 81% over the past year. Back then, it was in penny stock territory and now its up over $8 per share.
On Wednesday, the catalyst for the surge was a $250 million investment the company secured from Toyota Motor Corporation. It was the first tranche of a $500 million investment from Toyota, which was announced last fall.
Joby officials said the funding will go toward certification and commercial production of the company’s electric air taxi.
“We’re already seeing the benefit of working with Toyota in streamlining manufacturing processes and optimizing design,” JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, said. “This is an important next step in our alliance with Toyota to scale the promise of electric flight. With this capital and Toyota’s legendary production expertise, we’re enhancing our ability to scale cutting-edge design and manufacturing to meet the demands of our partners and customers.”
Getting ready for liftoff
Earlier this month, Joby announced that it had reached a milestone in its development, as it test flew two of its air taxis simultaneously, marking the first time it has done that. It came just weeks after the company did a test flight with a pilot on board that went from vertical to cruise flight, and back again. It was another testing milestone for Joby.
“With six aircraft in our test fleet, flying multiple aircraft at a time will play an important role in accelerating our certification testing and supporting our plans to carry our first passengers next year,” Bevirt said.
The company already has partnerships with Delta Air Lines and Uber to launch its service, which it expects to do in Los Angeles and New York City. Service is projected to begin shortly after Joby receives its certification from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Outside the U.S., the firm has a partnership with Virgin Atlantic to bring its service to the UK and ANA Holdings to launch in Japan. Further, it expects to start passenger operations in Dubai in early 2026.
To date, Joby’s air taxis have completed more than 40,000 miles of test flights in New York City, Japan, Korea, and California. Two of its aircraft are being tested at Edwards Air Force Base in California and will be used by defense customers.
Joby stock has a median price target of $8 per share, which was exceeded on Wednesday. It has a bright future, but it remains a speculative play as it has yet to post profits or launch commercial operations.
