Joby Goes Public, Shows First In-Flight Video

Joby Aviation has released the first in-flight video of its tiltrotor eVTOL after taking the somewhat secretive startup public in a deal worth $1.6 billion. The born-in-a-barn aircraft is shown going through basic flight maneuvers in the video. It appears to be unmanned and flown by remote control. It has five seats and Joby says it will go 150 miles on a charge at speeds up to 200 MPH. Joby also claims the aircraft is 100 times quieter than a conventional aircraft. The Verge is reporting that Joby hopes to begin revenue service in 2024.

The company, which literally houses its engineering team in a barn on a rural property near Santa Cruz, California, recently acquired Uber’s urban mobility division and has attracted hefty investor interest, including the likes of Intel, Toyota and JetBlue. It went public through a reverse merger with a so-called “blank check” company and will be valued at a total of $6.6 billion when it is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Joby has also created an investor presentation in which it says it hopes to build each aircraft for as little as $650,000 and that each Joby can create about $2.2 million in revenue in its lifetime.