It wasn’t a bird. It wasn’t a plane—at least not in the traditional sense.
San Francisco Bay Area residents could be forgiven for any momentary confusion Thursday as they watched—many for the first time—an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi soar over the bay and around the Golden Gate Bridge. The series of flights were the first in what Joby Aviation, the aircraft’s manufacturer, dubbed its “Electric Skies Tour.”
The tour, which Joby described as a “national showcase timed to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary,” will include demonstrations in cities across the U.S. Joby declined to specify which cities, how many, or when it will make its next stop, saying it would reveal more down the line.
The company’s flagship air taxi is piloted—at least for now—and designed to fly as many as four passengers on short, urban trips, cruising on fixed wings at about 200 mph. Six propellers give it the lift needed to take off vertically like a helicopter, but they also swivel forward to support forward flight.
Joby on Wednesday revealed it began flying its first “FAA-conforming” air taxi, meaning the aircraft is representative of the one it aims to certify and operate commercially. Thursday’s California flight was instead conducted with a preproduction prototype, N545JX.
The aircraft lifted off at Oakland San Francisco Bay International Airport (KOAK). Joby has benefited from the region’s fostering of innovative tech companies, with its headquarters just a few miles from the bay in Santa Cruz. Per founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt, it is also an “area with significant traffic and unique geographical barriers.”
“Our technology provides an opportunity to build on the immense potential of this region while protecting it for the next generation,” Bevirt said. “By providing clean, quiet service with minimal infrastructure investment we are making flight an everyday reality for the community.”
N545JX flew across the bay toward the Golden Gate Bridge, turning near the Marin Headlands and circling Alcatraz. The San Francisco Chronicle, one of several media outlets invited to watch the flight from a local yacht club, said the aircraft “cruised along in virtual silence.”
Joby told FLYING that other stops on the tour will include operations at airports.
Air Taxis in the Spotlight
Joby is launching its tour at a time when electric aircraft are doing more real-world flying than ever before.
In 2025, Beta Technologies completed a six-week, 8,000 nm, 25-state barnstorm across the U.S. with its Alia electric aircraft. Alia flew as many as four times daily under day, night, VFR, and IFR conditions, including a sortie into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (KATL). The aircraft went on to make the first electric passenger-carrying flight into John F. Kennedy International Airport (KJFK) in June.
Beta, which is developing both vertical and conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variants of Alia, used the CTOL for those demonstrations. Joby’s tour could be the most expansive yet for a VTOL model, which have largely been limited to testing in controlled environments.
Joby said its test aircraft have flown more than 50,000 miles, including 9,000 across more than 850 flights in 2025 alone. Several have featured transitions from hover to forward flight, demonstrating the key advantage of the eVTOL configuration. The company in 2025 completed public demonstrations in California, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates, with several flights between airports.
Americans will see a lot more of Joby’s air taxi—and other electric aircraft—as soon as this summer.
The firm was part of five out of eight winning bids for the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP)—a three-year initiative to test precertified aircraft in real-world settings. Operations will be spread across 26 states, with Joby planning to fly in 10. Planned operations include passenger flights in the New York City borough of Manhattan and medical response in Florida.
Beta and other Joby competitors—including Archer Aviation, with which it is engaged in a legal battle—were also selected for multiple eIPP projects.
As it puts its air taxi to the test with real airports and air traffic controllers, Joby is also conducting a flight test campaign with the aircraft it will use for FAA type certification. It is building four more FAA-conforming vehicles and hopes to get agency test pilots in the cockpit as soon as this year. Data collected by those pilots will help the regulator make a determination on issuing a type certificate.
Joby aims to complete the type certification process within the next 12 months or so, allowing it to begin flying paying customers in cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
Before then, it hopes to begin passenger operations in Dubai this year in partnership with Uber, which intends to offer air taxi trips on its platform in the future. However, the region’s geopolitical situation could throw a wrench in those plans.
