JOBY CEO's Childhood Dream Is About to Come True as Electric Air Taxi Hits New Milestone

Joby Aviation Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt plans to take his first ride as a passenger in the company’s electric air taxi within months, a dream he has had since boyhood.

Edges Closer to Passenger Testing

Joby has powered on the first aircraft designated for passenger testing, Bevirt told analysts on the company’s third-quarter call on Wednesday.

“This is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a little boy, and this is a dream come true for me,” Bevirt said of the upcoming ride.

He plans to report back on his flight on the next quarterly call, and the company has more passenger flights planned on the aircraft next year.

Last month, Joby flew its electric air taxi across Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg to Tampa, retracing the 1914 Tony Jannus trip billed as the world’s first scheduled commercial airline flight.

Races Toward FAA Testing

Bevirt’s ride comes as Joby works through the final stage of FAA certification for its air taxi.

FAA pilots are due to begin training on its aircraft in the first half of 2027, ahead of flight tests that count toward a type certificate.

Joby Chief Policy Officer Greg Bowles said such flight testing “takes somewhere between 6 and 18 months,” but the company plans to fly multiple aircraft at the same time “to try to expedite that work.”

Beats on Revenue, Raises Guidance

Joby reported quarterly losses of 22 cents per share, while analysts expected 25 cents, per Benzinga Pro data. Revenue came in at $55.09 million, beating the Street estimate of $39.9 million.

The company raised its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to $135 million to $140 million.

Cathie Wood‘s Ark Invest bought more than 2.2 million Joby shares across four sessions in October, worth about $11 million.

Price Action: Shares closed 4.12% higher on Wednesday at $5.05 and climbed 4.36% to $5.27 in overnight trading.

Benzinga Edge rankings indicate Joby’s stock has a Momentum score in the 2nd percentile, with negative price trends across the short, medium, and long term.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.