Shares of Joby Aviation (JOBY) are rocketing 25% higher in morning trading Wednesday after the robotaxi stock received a $250 million investment from Japanese automaker Toyota (TM).
It is the first milestone payment installment of a planned $500 million total, and makes the carmaker the largest shareholder in the electrical vertical takeoff and landing aircraft manufacturer. Toyota now owns 15.3% of JOBY stock, more than that of Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt.
Joby has been expecting the investment since the end of last year and it expects the second milestone payment to come later this year. The planned payments were announced last October.
The robotaxi stock had planned to begin commercial operations in Dubai in the second half of 2025, but has postponed the launch of its air taxi services to early 2026. Rival Archer Aviation (ACHR) says it is "on track" to commercially launch later this year in Abu Dhabi.
Joby has a vertically integrated business model that controls the design, manufacturing, and operations for its four-passenger eVTOL craft. The electric air taxis offer superior range of up to 150 miles and greater speed than competing aircraft in part due to its in-house tech development. Joby has already delivered two eVTOL aircraft to the U.S. Air Force for testing, though that has yet to generate revenue for it.
The eVTOL stock ended the first quarter with $812.5 million in cash, equivalents, and short-term investments, which was already sufficient to see it through to commercialization, but the $250 million cash gives it additional room allowing it to expand upon the opportunity.
Bevirt said in a release the milestone payment "is an important next step in our alliance with Toyota to scale the promise of electric flight."
JOBY stock is currently trading at $8.62 per share following yesterday's close at $6.88 per share.
