The Electric: Toyota Took a Pass on EVs. But it Has Bet $1 Billion on this Flying Car Company

Toyota Motors is one of the world’s most buttoned-up companies. But in 2017, an executive from the carmaker’s venture arm drove into the remote Santa Cruz, Calif., mountains to see a group of engineers living together in a 1960s-style commune. As he watched, they demonstrated a remote-controlled electric helicopter they predicted would usher in an age of air taxis for the masses.

Eight years later, Joby, now a publicly traded company, says it will launch commercial air taxi flights in 2026. The first flights will be in four Dubai “vertiports,” including at the city’s airport, downtown and marina. Later in the year, Joby plans to start operations in U.S. cities, such as New York and Los Angeles.

And behind the venture is Joby’s largest shareholder, the ordinarily ultracautious Toyota, which holds a 22% ownership stake and has invested nearly $1 billion in the startup.