- Joby Aviation stock soared as much as 44% on Wednesday after the company received a permit to begin flight testing.
- The company launched its production line and expects to deliver the first ever eVTOL aircraft.
- Joby has received investments from Toyota and Delta Air Lines, among others.
Joby Aviation stock soared as much as 44% on Wednesday and hit its highest level since November 2021 after the flying-taxi company said it secured a special permit to begin flight testing.
The stock was trading at $9.09 per share at 3:45 p.m. ET Wednesday.
Joby received a Special Airworthiness Certificate for the first aircraft it built at its production line in Marina, California, according to a Wednesday press release from the company.
The company develops and manufactures electric vertical-take-off-and-landing vehicles, with the hope that its new class of vehicles could open up urban travel opportunities. The company received an investment from and partnered with Delta Air Lines, with the hopes of launching an eVTOL taxi-service from Manhattan to JFK, which would turn an hour and change car drive into an under 10-minute flight.
Joby also received an investment from and partnered with Toyota Motors, as the two companies collaborated on the production of its eVTOL aircraft, which essentially looks like a super-sized drone that can hold four passengers and a pilot.
Toyota president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America Tetsuo Ogawa will join Joby's board of directors, according to Joby.
Joby still has a ways to go before it can start flying passengers to airports across the country, with the company estimating that it will begin passenger operations in 2025 assuming all of its test flights go as planned. Joby had previously estimated that it would begin passenger operations in 2024.
Between now and then, Joby will supply its eVTOL aircraft to the Edwards Air Force Base as part of a contract worth up to $131 million with the US Air Force, with the goal of demonstrating its range of potential logistics use cases.