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Posted on 03/12/2026 11:19:32 PM PDT by Libloather
A flying taxi took a spin over San Francisco Thursday — and the Bay Area’s tech crowd was there to watch.
The small electric aircraft from Joby Aviation flew across San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate Bridge during a demonstration flight that drew reporters and industry guests to the St. Francis Yacht Club.
The flight is part of the company’s push to launch electric air taxis — small vertical takeoff planes designed to carry passengers on short trips of roughly 10 to 50 miles.
Joby’s aircraft seats four passengers and uses six propellers. The company says rides could cost $100 to $170, roughly the price of an Uber Black, for trips like San Francisco to Napa.
Santa Cruz–based Joby Aviation is one of several companies racing to bring eVTOL aircraft — short for electric vertical takeoff and landing — to market. Rival Archer Aviation, based in San Jose, is developing similar aircraft.
Both companies are currently going through certification testing with federal regulators before launching commercial passenger service.
Joby was selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation to participate in a federal pilot program aimed at speeding up eVTOL deployment.
Commercial flights could begin this year in several states, including New York, Texas and Florida, with California expected to follow.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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I’ve heard of you. Heard you were dead.
Not hardly.
Those EV battery explosions are a real killer in mid flight.
Similar aircraft did a demo flight further South on the CA coast recently:
https://youtu.be/xh71gTSfr6g?si=WfENHMEa5DIBeIxy
I don’t understand why these rotary wing aircraft are not ducted.
If only they could have thought about building a high-speed rail system.....
Bet the Jihadi can hardly wait to some of those.
AI generated video? Let’s see it take off and tilt the rotors like an Osprey. It’s almost as cool as a thing known as a “helicopter” but those are still on the drawing board.
Efficiency, weight and added cost.
The Osprey tilt rotor costs $90 million, so they have done a great job of advertising to reach the $170k price tag. How can I invest in this sure-thing aviation company?
Are they AI piloted, or will they be flown by the same Somali or Pakistani immigrants that drive terrestrial cabs? Don’t want the last thing I hear to be “Allahu akbar!” As the taxi plows into an office building.
The drag penalty and increased complexity probably doesn't offset the gain in efficiency of the props.
I can’t see this technology uhh... ‘taking off’ until they resolve that problem. These things are not safe for autonomy as long as they’re operating like a helicopter. The dream is to have these operating autonomously in defined air corridors. Land in your driveway without chopping up the dog. Pick up four passengers and some bags, take you to your destination and drop you off. George Jetson style.
Alibaba already sells EVTOLs
EVTOL Urban Air Mobility OEM Electric Aircraft for Personal Traveling
$120,000
Zxz (hangzhou) Innovation Tech Co., Ltd.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/EVTOL-Urban-Air-Mobility-OEM-Electric_1601636776333.html?spm=a2700.prosearch.normal_offer.d_title.6d7e67afHPhuki&priceId=f0cb2847320d4d1cb2efc959cf5762b2
Alibaba already sells humanoid robots too.
air taxis?
wouldnt air limos be more accurate?
$170 to fly air taxi 10 - 50 miles?
I’ve been out of the game for a while, are these now 2 years away, or are they still 5?
grok sez about 10,000 taxi/uber/lyft rides in action at any one time ... what would be the air traffic collision situation be if 10,000 of these things were flying around willy-nilly at any one time?
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