Risk Factors Summary
Our business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which are described in greater detail in Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” of this Annual Report, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and brand. These risks include:
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Certification & Regulatory
• We may be unable to obtain relevant regulatory approvals for the commercialization of our aircraft.
• We may be unable to integrate into the National Airspace System, or it may be unable to accommodate the volume of flights we expect to operate at scale.
• Changes in government regulation could increase our operating costs or extend our certification timeline.
• We may be subject to security regulation that will increase our operating costs.
• We are subject to stringent U.S. export and import control laws and regulations.
• Global trade policies, including tariffs, could adversely affect our operations.
• Rapidly changing laws relating to privacy and data protection may be costly and difficult to comply with.
Market & Service
• The market for UAM may not achieve the growth potential we expect or may grow more slowly than expected.
• There may be reluctance by consumers to adopt this new form of mobility, or unwillingness to pay our prices.
• We may face delays in launching our commercial service.
• Errors or vulnerabilities in software code could harm our business.
• We may be unable to reduce end-user pricing at rates sufficient to drive growth for our service.
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• Our competitors may commercialize their technology before us.
• If we are unable to integrate our service with ground transportation services it may limit customer adoption.
• Customers may not differentiate our services from our competitors.
• Our prospects may be affected by changes in consumer preferences that affect demand for our services.
• We may be unable to obtain or maintain adequate facilities and infrastructure.
• Our aircraft utilization may be lower than expected due to weather and other factors.
Aircraft and Production
• Our aircraft may fail to achieve performance expectations.
• We may not be able to produce aircraft in the volumes and on the timelines we project.
• Crashes, accidents or incidents of eVTOL and other aircraft could have a material adverse effect.
• We will initially rely on a single type of aircraft to support our commercial UAM business.
• We depend on suppliers and service partners for raw materials, parts and components.
• Our aircraft may require maintenance at frequencies or at costs which are unexpected.
U.S. Government Contracts and Pre-Certification Operations
• The U.S. government may modify or terminate one or more of our existing contracts.
• We may be unable to grow our relationship with the U.S. government and the Department of Defense.
• We conduct a portion of our business pursuant to U.S. government contracts, which are subject to unique risks.
Risks Related to our Blade Air Charter Operations
• We may not realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisition of Blade.
• We could suffer losses and adverse publicity stemming from accidents involving Blade charter flights.
• The markets for our Blade offerings are still in relatively early stages of growth, and may not continue to grow.
• We may be unable to offer our existing Blade flight schedule and to expand our route network in the future.
• We rely on our third-party operators to provide and operate aircraft.
• Illegal or improper operation of branded aircraft by our third-party operators, could harm our business.
Risks Related to Our Finances and Operations
• We have incurred significant losses since inception, we expect to incur losses in the future.
• We will need additional capital in the future.
• The Toyota Investment is subject to closing conditions.
• We have broad discretion in how we use our assets, and we may not use them effectively.
• Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
• We are required to maintain disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting.
• We may be unable to protect our intellectual property rights from unauthorized use by third parties.
• If conflicts arise between us and our strategic partners, our business could be adversely affected.
• We may invest significant resources in developing new offerings that may never materialize.
• Any material disruption in our information systems could adversely affect our business.
• We or our third-party service providers may experience a security breach.
• Our intended initial operations are concentrated in a small number of metropolitan areas.
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• We currently have subsidiaries located outside of the United States and plans for international operations.
• We are subject to risks arising from natural disasters and severe weather conditions.
• We may not be able to secure adequate insurance policies, or secure insurance policies at reasonable prices.
• We are dependent on our senior management team and other highly skilled personnel.
• Our business may be adversely affected by union activities.
Additional Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
• The price of our common stock has been and may continue to be volatile.
• We do not intend to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future.
• Analysts may not publish research about our business or may publish inaccurate or unfavorable research.
• We may be subject to securities litigation, activist investors and short-selling campaigns.
• Future resales of common stock may cause the market price of our securities to drop significantly.
• Our charter documents include provisions designed to ensure compliance with applicable aviation regulations.
• We could be deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Market and Industry Data
This Annual Report includes industry and market data obtained from periodic industry publications, third-party surveys and studies, including from Morgan Stanley and government and industry sources. Industry publications and surveys generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Although we believe the industry and market data to be reliable as of the date of this Annual Report, this information could prove to be inaccurate. Industry and market data could be wrong because of the method by which sources obtained their data and because information cannot always be verified with complete certainty due to the limits on the availability and reliability of raw data, the voluntary nature of the data gathering process and other limitations and uncertainties. Each publication, study and report speaks as of its original publication date (and not as of the date of this Annual Report). Certain of these publications, studies and reports were published before the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore do not reflect any impact of COVID-19 on any specific market. In addition, we do not know all of the assumptions regarding general economic conditions or growth that were used in preparing the forecasts from the sources relied upon or cited herein.
Item 1. Business
Overview
We have spent more than a decade designing and testing a piloted, all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) air taxi which we intend to operate in cities around the world. We intend to operate air taxi services both directly and through strategic partnerships, while also pursuing aircraft sales to distributors and expanding into defense and other specialized markets. Our mission is to help the world connect faster and more easily with the people and places that matter most by delivering a new form of clean, fast, quiet and convenient aerial transportation service. The Joby eVTOL is being designed to transport a pilot and up to four passengers - or a targeted payload of up to 1,000 pounds - at speeds of up to 200 mph. The aircraft is optimized for urban routes, with a target range of up to 100 miles on a single charge. According to our modeling, more than 99% of urban routes in cities such as New York City and Los Angeles are significantly shorter than this, enabling higher utilization through faster turnaround times of our aircraft. By combining the freedom of air travel with the efficiency of our aircraft, we expect to deliver journeys that are up to 10 times faster than driving, and it is our goal to steadily drive down end-user pricing in the years following commercial launch to make the service widely accessible.
Our aircraft has been specifically designed with multiple redundancies across systems and components for enhanced safety and to achieve a considerably lower noise footprint than that of similarly sized conventional aircraft or helicopters. It is quiet at takeoff and near silent when flying overhead, which we anticipate will allow us to operate from new vertiport locations nearer to where people live and work, in addition to utilizing the more than 5,000 heliport and airport infrastructure facilities already in existence in the U.S.
We are in the process of certifying our aircraft with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”). This involves a rigorous process of design, testing, verification and quality control. We have also begun working with regulators in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) to pursue commercialization opportunities in those markets. While foreign certification in many
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countries leverages our work with the FAA, in some, such as the UAE, it may also provide a path to commercial operations prior to receiving certification in the United States.
We have identified three potential routes to market for our electric air taxi: (1) Joby owned and operated air taxi service (2) affiliate owned and operated service and (3) direct sales & defense. We plan to manufacture, operate and sell our aircraft, and are building a vertically integrated transportation company to maximize the value of our investments. In addition to building a novel aircraft, we are also building both an air taxi service and a next-generation aviation company. Elevate OS is our proprietary operating system that integrates data across aircraft build, operations and maintenance - establishing a scalable, software-enabled platform designed to improve efficiency and performance as our networks grow. At the front-end, we are developing a convenient consumer app to deliver the first on-demand, aerial ridesharing service. We are targeting carrying our first passengers in 2026. We believe this vertically-integrated business model will generate the greatest economic returns over time, while providing us with end-to-end control over the customer experience to optimize for customer safety, comfort and value. Vertical integration is also the key to fast design, test and launch iterations, as well as limiting our dependence on outside suppliers while developing valuable know-how and intellectual property in-house.
We operate a powertrain and electronics engineering and manufacturing facility in San Carlos, California, as well as 130,000 square feet of additive and subtractive manufacturing, machining, aircraft assembly and flight test facilities in Marina, California. With local support from California state incentives and grants, in 2025, we completed construction of a new 226,000 square foot building at our Marina site to support manufacturing and training. These facilities are utilized to design, build and test the components, systems and assemblies for our aircraft as we refine our design and hone our production processes. We believe that our California operations will both be able to support our initial low-rate production plans as well as serve as a testing and development facility for future innovations. Our high-rate production facility is planned for Dayton, Ohio where we purchased a 40,300 square foot facility in 2024 and an additional 728,000 square foot facility in January 2026 that has the potential to support significant growth over time. With strong financial incentives and support from state and local governments, we look forward to expanding our manufacturing in Ohio, the birthplace of aviation, as our business grows.
In August 2025, we acquired Blade Urban Air Mobility, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Blade”) which operates a technology-powered, global urban air mobility platform through which they provide air charter broker and other services. Following the acquisition, Blade continues to operate its air charter broker service as our wholly owned subsidiary. We expect the acquisition to provide immediate market access, including an established customer base, operational expertise, airport relationships and infrastructure across key urban corridors in New York City and Southern Europe. We expect our Blade operations to support our go-to-market strategy by providing near-term operating experience and customer insights, and by contributing relationships and infrastructure that we expect to leverage as we prepare for certification and the eventual launch of our eVTOL service.
Our preparations for commercial passenger service also includes forming sector-leading relationships with partners such as Toyota, Uber, and Delta Air Lines, each of whom have invested in Joby. We have also established relationships with global partners such as ANA Airlines in Japan, the Road and Transport Authority in Dubai and with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) (a diversified Saudi-based business group), with whom we entered into a memorandum of understanding in June 2025 to explore opportunities to support distribution and operations in Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East. We have also established relationships with infrastructure providers including fixed base operators and landing site partners such as Atlantic Aviation, Helo Holdings, Inc. (“HHI”) and Skyports to facilitate infrastructure development in key markets. Additionally, we have long-standing relationships with U.S. federal government agencies.
Joby Aero, Inc. (“Legacy Joby”) was incorporated in Delaware on November 21, 2016. In August 2021, Legacy Joby and Reinvent Technology Partners, a Cayman Islands exempted company and special purpose acquisition company (“RTP”), completed a merger and other transactions pursuant to which a subsidiary of RTP was merged with and into Legacy Joby and Legacy Joby survived as a wholly owned subsidiary of RTP. In connection with the transactions, RTP changed its name to Joby Aviation, Inc.
Our principal executive office is located at 333 Encinal Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Our telephone number is (831) 201-6700. Our website address is www.jobyaviation.com. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) maintains a website at www.sec.gov, that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. We also make available, free of charge, all of our SEC filings on our website at ir.jobyaviation.com as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. We have a code of ethics that applies to our executive officers, directors and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions. The code of ethics is available on our website, ir.jobyaviation.com. We intend to make any legally required disclosures regarding amendments to, or waivers of, provisions of our code of ethics on our website rather than by filing a
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Current Report on Form 8-K. The information contained on any of the websites referenced in this Annual Report are not part of or incorporated by reference into this or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC.
Our Aircraft
Our team of world-class engineers has been working for more than a decade to develop an aircraft specifically designed for aerial ridesharing. Over that period, we have built a team that is deeply committed to vertically integrated engineering, testing, prototyping and manufacturing. Developing much of the aircraft in-house has required greater up-front investment, but has also allowed us to develop systems and components that are specifically engineered for their intended applications. We believe this has resulted in an aircraft with best-in-class capabilities across key performance metrics, while reducing reliance on program critical third-party suppliers that add cost to the final product and risk to development and certification schedules.
We designed our aircraft to be safe, quiet and performant - all characteristics that we believe are critical to unlocking the urban aerial ridesharing market.
• Safe : Distributed electric propulsion has greater redundancy than centrally-located internal combustion engines. Each of our six propellers is powered by two independent electric motors, each in turn driven by independent drive-units. Each drive-unit draws power from one of four separate batteries onboard the aircraft.
This emphasis on redundancy is extended to other critical subsystems of the aircraft, including the flight computers, control surfaces, communications network and actuators. The result is a design intended to enhance safety across critical aircraft systems compared to similarly sized conventional aircraft and helicopters.
While these advancements in technology contribute to the overall safety of the aircraft, we recognize that safely delivering a commercial aviation operation requires both organizational and cultural commitments. We’ve made safety a core value, and we actively promote that value across the team.
Given our intent to both manufacture and operate our aircraft, we are developing a comprehensive, vertically-integrated, Enterprise Safety Management System (“SMS”) that covers aircraft design, manufacturing, global air operations, maintenance and training. Through the enterprise approach, SMS interfaces facilitate the exchange of information to continuously improve the safety of our aircraft and operations. In 2025, we formally initiated the implementation of a Part 5-compliant SMS for our OEM operations. This expansion builds on our established, fully compliant Part 5 SMS, which currently governs our Part 135 air operations. Our commitment to safety has been further validated by an independent, internationally recognized safety audit certification (IS-BAO Stage 2) qualification for our commercial air operations, demonstrating our adherence to internationally recognized aviation safety best practices and our dedication to continuous improvement.
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• Quiet : Developing an aircraft with a low noise footprint that allows for regular operations within metropolitan areas is critical to community acceptance. In addition to the benefits afforded by an all-electric powertrain, we’ve devoted substantial engineering resources to reduce the noise signature of the aircraft even further. The result is an aircraft that is significantly quieter than a twin-engine helicopter, exhibiting a noise profile in the range of 65 dBA during takeoff and landing (the noisiest configuration), roughly the volume of a normal speaking voice. In over-head flight as low as 500 feet the aircraft is nearly silent. We have independently validated the noise footprint of our prototype aircraft through our work with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”).
• Performant : Our commitment to vertical integration and in-house development has allowed for optimization of systems and components across the aircraft, resulting in better energy efficiency, range, and speed than what would otherwise be available using commercial-off-the-shelf components. Our aircraft demonstrates energy efficiency comparable to best-in-class electric ground vehicles. While we anticipate our average journey to be around 25 miles, we believe the expected range and speed of our aircraft will allow us to service a more diverse set of passengers and trips, resulting in greater operational flexibility and reduced operating costs.
The end result is a transformational new electric aircraft that is uniquely capable of pioneering this exciting new market - all with a minimal environmental footprint.
The innovations that we’ve produced to deliver this best-in-class performance are supported by extensive proprietary intellectual property and defended by a robust patent portfolio. Over more than a decade of development, we have generated broad fundamental patents around the architecture of our aircraft and the core technologies that enable our best-in-class performance. We intend to continue to build our intellectual property (“IP”) portfolio with respect to the technologies that we develop and refine.
Charging
We have developed proprietary charging infrastructure optimized for electric aircraft. Joby’s Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS) is designed to support the safe and efficient operations of electric aircraft, including simultaneous charging of multiple battery packs, battery conditioning for ultra-fast charging, and secure data download to address safety and cybersecurity. After 10 years of development, in 2023, we announced that we would open-source and share the specifications for the universal charging interface we developed, making it freely available to our industry.
The Urban Air Mobility Market
Ground-Based Transportation Networks are Under Strain
Population growth and urbanization are stretching ground-based transportation infrastructure to its limits. Today, more than half of the world’s approximately 8.2 billion people live in urban areas. According to a report by the United Nations (“UN”), the number of Megacities (metropolitan areas with 10 million people or more inhabitants) has increased from 8 in 1975 to 33 in 2025 and is projected to rise to 37 by 2050.
Transportation is the life-blood of urban areas, and population growth combined with increased urbanization will continue to push this infrastructure to the brink. According to a 2025 urban mobility report, Americans lost an average of 63 hours to traffic delays in 2024 (the highest level ever measured), and national congestion costs approximately $269 billion annually. The report also notes that congestion is increasingly occurring outside of traditional weekday rush hours.
New light rail lines can cost more than $100 million per mile in the U.S. and routinely exceed twice that number. Moving beneath the surface to expand subway networks is even more expensive, with new subway lines costing nearly $1 billion per mile. These ground-based networks cannot scale efficiently, and the costs are prohibitive. We believe that cities need a new, sustainable mobility solution.
Sizable Untapped Market Opportunity
Developing sustainable mobility solutions is particularly critical and timely. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), the top source of CO2 emissions in the U.S. is the transportation sector. Any solution to current and future transportation demands must embrace sustainability.
Over the past two decades, improvements in lithium-ion batteries and power electronics alongside the ever-increasing performance of microelectronics have enabled the development and deployment of new transportation solutions. The success of electric ground vehicles has fueled continued investments in these technologies. Battery energy densities, in particular, have improved such that application to aviation is now practical. Additionally, we believe that other future
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technologies, such as hydrogen and solid-state batteries, have the potential to play an important role in decarbonizing flight in the longer term.
We believe that deploying a new type of aerial mobility network in cities represents an extensive market opportunity. Fundamentally, an aerial mobility network is nodal vs. the path-based nature of ground mobility. Each new node added to the network adds connectivity to all the other nodes, whereas each new mile of road, rail, or tunnel only extends one single route by one mile. In a nodal network, a linear increase in the number of nodes leads to an exponential increase in the number of connections.
In addition, the challenges associated with getting in and out of city centers can make frequent, casual travel impractical. We expect that streamlining this experience will open up previously untapped sources of latent demand, much the same way that the development of modern jetliners unlocked demand for transatlantic travel.
Leading investment banks and consulting firms have recently assessed the scale of this market. According to a 2021 report by Morgan Stanley, the urban air mobility sector's total addressable market is projected to reach $1 trillion globally by 2040. While this may initially reflect replacement of loud, carbon-fuel focused transportation with clean energy eVTOL options, we believe additional use cases and applications will emerge as the market evolves.
Business Model
Our business model is based on capturing the most value through vertical integration. We believe it is an important part of our design, manufacturing and operations as it enables us to develop a more performant aircraft and tightly-integrated operations with a goal of long-term, durable margins. Particularly in a new industry such as Urban Air Mobility, everything from the exacting certification requirements for an electric air taxi to the individual experience of end users can be better managed with a vertically integrated business model. When we started the business, the existing supply base did not have the technology we required in the size, dimensions and power needed. There are multiple examples of Joby-engineered parts, such as our flight control computer or direct drive electronic propulsion unit, that we believe generate more power in a smaller footprint and with fewer moving parts than ever before possible. Close collaboration between design, production and testing teams yield tight, iterative cycles, leading to innovative solutions in less time than if we were dependent on outside vendors. We expect this will be a competitive advantage now and in future years as our experience operating the air taxi service will flow into the design of next generation products.
Our Aerial Ridesharing Service
We intend to build an aerial ridesharing service powered by a network of eVTOL aircraft that we will manufacture and operate. We are developing an app-based platform that will enable consumers to book rides directly through our service. We also plan to integrate access to our service into leading third-party demand aggregation platforms, including through our partnerships with Uber and Delta Air Lines. Whether our service is accessed through our own platform, or through a partner app, we will integrate ground transportation providers for the first and last mile with our aerial service, providing a seamless, end-to-end travel experience.
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We refer to trips that integrate air and ground legs together as ‘multimodal.’ By building network management software that efficiently sequences multimodal trips, we believe we can provide substantial time savings to travelers while coordinating the development of optimally-located vertiport infrastructure. Additionally, we are developing software that will coordinate multiple riders into each air leg, allowing us to drive high utilization rates for our aircraft and, in turn, progressive reduction in end-user pricing.
We believe that our app-based aerial ridesharing service will be fast, convenient, comfortable, environmentally sustainable and, over time, progressively more affordable. By maintaining full control over the design, development, test, manufacture and operations of our aircraft, we intend to deliver a service that is optimized from beginning to end, positioning us to be the leading company in this market.
Additional Opportunities at Scale
We believe that being early to market with the right aircraft will provide important first mover advantages that will enable us to steadily drive down end-user pricing in the years following commercial launch. Emerging technologies often benefit from positive network effects as the product or service enters the market, and we expect this to hold true for aerial ridesharing. We have identified 3 routes to bring our eVTOL aircraft to markets globally.
Joby Owned & Operated Air Taxi Service
We plan to own and operate our aircraft in markets including the United States and Dubai. As additional passengers enter the network, we expect utilization rates for our aircraft will increase, thereby improving unit economics and allowing costs to be amortized over a greater number of trips. At the same time, we believe reductions in per aircraft costs driven by greater manufacturing scale will be able to support progressively lower pricing to consumers while maintaining similar per aircraft unit profitability. As our networks expand and grow in utilization, their value is also expected to grow to produce enduring, long-term margins.
Affiliate Owned & Operated Service
In other markets, we intend to collaborate with established local partners to facilitate the operation of Joby eVTOL aircraft. This strategic approach offers several advantages. Partnering with regional entities allows Joby to leverage partners’ deep understanding of local regulations, market dynamics, and customer preferences. Additionally, by sharing startup costs with regional partners, we can reduce the financial burden and risks associated with entering new markets. This collaboration model not only fosters mutual growth but also supports Joby’s goal of scaling eVTOL operations globally, while adapting to the unique needs of each market.
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Direct Sales & Defense
In other instances, we anticipate selling aircraft directly into markets. In 2025, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Abdul Latif Jameel to explore the delivery of up to 200 electric aircraft and related services valued at approximately $1 billion in Saudi Arabia, and signed a letter of intent to sell aircraft and services valued at up to $250 million to Alatau Advance Air Group in Kazakhstan. We are also working with L3Harris to adapt our existing eVTOL aircraft platform to address defense applications which may also involve aircraft sales in the future.
Certification
Type Certification
In the U.S., new aircraft designs are required to pass through the rigorous FAA design certification process, known as type certification, before the aircraft can be issued a standard airworthiness certificate to fly in the National Airspace System (“NAS”). This is an exacting process that requires extensive ground and in-flight testing with the FAA. We anticipate we will initially certify the aircraft for day and night visual flight rules (“VFR”) operations and we plan to amend the design to include instrument flight rules (“IFR”) capabilities over time.
Our aircraft was originally intended to be certified in line with the FAA's existing Part 23 requirements as a normal category piloted electric airplane that can also takeoff and land vertically. We began working with the FAA in 2017, and in 2020 we became the first eVTOL company to receive a signed, stage 4 G-1 certification basis from the FAA. The G-1 certification basis is an agreement with the FAA that lays out the specific requirements that need to be met by our aircraft for it to be certified for commercial operations. In May 2022, the FAA indicated that they were revisiting the decision to certify all eVTOLs under Part 23 and would, instead, require certification under the “powered lift” classification. Based on the FAA’s revised certification requirements, we signed an updated G-1 certification basis in July 2022, which was published in the federal register in March 2024.
We think of the type certification process in five stages. Stages one to three can be considered the “definition”
phase, while stages four and five are the “implementation” phase. Progress in type certification is not always linear, meaning it is possible to make simultaneous progress in different stages on different aircraft parts or systems, depending on their maturity.
• Stage 1 - Certification Basis : The Company works with the FAA to define the scope of the type certification project, reaching an agreement on what type of aircraft is being built and which set of rules and regulations will apply.
• Stage 2 - Means of Compliance : The Company looks more closely at the safety rules and identifies the means of demonstrating compliance with them.
• Stage 3 - Certification Plans : The Company develops a wide range of detailed certification plans stipulating which tests need to be performed for each system area in order to satisfy the means of compliance.
• Stage 4 - Testing & Analysis : The Company plans, documents and completes thousands of inspections, tests and analyses in accordance with the certification plans previously drawn up in the third stage.
• Stage 5 - Show & Verify : The results of the testing are verified by the FAA. Upon successful completion of this stage, a type certification is issued.
With a mature design based on thousands of test flights to date, we are well on our way towards certification and are engaging with the FAA to perform the component and flight testing required to earn FAA type certification.
Additionally, in September 2025 the President issued an Executive Order directing the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) and FAA to ensure that mature eVTOL aircraft can begin operations in select markets ahead of full FAA certification. This eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, or “eIPP” is designed to allow mature aircraft designs to demonstrate eVTOL use cases, such as passenger transportation, cargo delivery, and emergency response, ahead of achieving type certification. We supported several state and local governments in submitting proposals under the eIPP.
We expect the FAA type certificate will be reciprocated in certain international markets pursuant to bilateral agreements between the FAA and its counterpart civil aviation authorities. In 2022, we applied for aircraft certification in the United Kingdom and Japan and in 2024, we applied for aircraft certification in Australia, following announcements by regulators in those countries adopting streamlined certification processes based on FAA certification. In 2023, we signed an agreement with Road and Transport Authority of Dubai (“RTA”) for Joby to provide air taxi services in Dubai. The RTA agreement includes a roadmap for local approval by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (“GCAA”) that could precede type certification by the FAA. These arrangements provide a means of efficient international expansion as we develop commercial operations around the world.
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Our path to certification leverages a large body of existing processes, procedures and standards. However, many of the rules for eVTOL certification and operations are still being finalized by the FAA, and the FAA could revise the existing rules and regulations or impose additional requirements that would extend our timeline for certification.
Production Certification
We are developing the systems and processes needed to obtain FAA production certification and intend to obtain our production certificate shortly after completion of our aircraft type certificate. We believe there are opportunities to leverage advanced manufacturing techniques such as additive manufacturing to further improve the performance of the aircraft. However, if additively manufactured components or other advanced production processes cannot be certified expediently, our aircraft can be produced using conventional aerospace manufacturing techniques.
Operating Certification
The U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) and the FAA exercise regulatory authority over air transportation operations in the U.S. Our intended transportation service is expected to be regulated by the Federal Aviation Regulations, including 14 Code of Federal Regulations 135 (“Part 135”). We received our Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate in 2022, demonstrating the advancement of our procedures and training program and, importantly, enabling our team to begin utilizing the operations and customer technology platforms that will underpin our multi-modal ridesharing service in the future. Air carriers holding Part 135 operations specifications can conduct on-demand operations, which may include limited scheduled operations. If such an air carrier receives a commuter air carrier authorization from the DOT, the air carrier may provide unlimited scheduled operations as well as on-demand operations. We received our Part 145 Repair Station Certificate in February 2024, which qualifies us to perform select aircraft maintenance activities and will lay the foundation for us to perform maintenance, repair, and overhaul services on our eVTOL aircraft once it is certified for commercial operations. Additionally, in December 2024, we received our Part 141 Flight School Certificate for our Joby Aviation Academy pilot training program.
In October 2024, the FAA published the Special Federal Aviation Regulations (“SFARs”), which include operational regulations for eVTOL aircraft. We will need to comply with these SFARs as we add our aircraft to our Part 135 operating certificate. If there are other changes or revisions to the SFARs or other applicable regulations, this could delay our ability to obtain type certification, and could delay our ability to launch our commercial passenger service.
Our operations may become subject to additional federal, state and local requirements in the future.
Airspace Integration
The aircraft has been designed to be operated within the existing airspace rules and regulations with a qualified pilot in command onboard the aircraft. As the density of air traffic increases, we believe there are opportunities to expand ground infrastructure and create air traffic efficiencies. Over time, we anticipate the importance of working with the FAA, local authorities and other stakeholders to identify and develop procedures along high demand routes to support increased scale and operational tempo. Constructs for operating along those routes may include specific airspace corridors like those outlined by the FAA. In the long term, digital clearance deliveries, airspace authorizations and automated coordination between service providers and operators may be required to further increase airspace scalability. We expect to continue to be involved in long-term activities to develop concepts and technologies (for example those led by NASA and the FAA) to further enable scaling towards mature and autonomous operations.
Policy Engagements with Decision Makers & Communities
Providing a successful air transportation service requires collaboration with local communities to ensure the services provide the right solutions in the right locations. We plan to grow our engagement at the state and local levels within the U.S. and with key international partners in the coming years.
While the regulation of the aircraft and its operation with the NAS falls within the purview of the FAA, takeoff and landing locations often require state and local approval for zoning and land use. In many cases, existing airports and heliports are subject to regulations by local authorities.
Noise Regulations
The Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 recognizes the rights of operators of airports to implement noise and access restrictions so long as such programs do not interfere unreasonably with interstate or foreign commerce or the national air transportation system. In addition, states and local municipalities are able to set ordinances for zoning and land use, which
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may include noise or other restrictions such as curfews. Finally, foreign governments may allow airports and/or municipalities to enact similar restrictions. Accordingly, minimizing the volume and characteristics of noise within and above communities has been an important focus for us in order to drive community acceptance.
Our aircraft has been designed to minimize noise to allow for operations in and out of new vertiports that are nearer to where people want to live and work. At our noisiest configuration, the aircraft has a noise profile in the range of 65 dBA, roughly the volume of a normal talking voice. Given our low noise profile, we do not expect our operations to be constrained to on-airport operations.
Partnerships
We believe that our strategic relationships reflect another point of competitive differentiation. Across each of the important activities of high-volume manufacturing, go-to-market strategy and pre-certification operations, we have established strong collaborations and relationships with Toyota, Delta, Uber, L3 Harris and the Department of Defense (“DOD”) to help achieve our objectives and de-risk our commercial strategy.
Toyota Motor Corporation
As of December 31, 2025, Toyota has invested nearly $650 million in Joby, making Toyota our largest outside investor. In 2024, Toyota signed a stock purchase agreement pursuant to which they committed to invest up to an additional $500 million, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions. In May 2025, Toyota invested the first $250 million contemplated under the purchase agreement. In addition to their substantial financial backing, Toyota engineers are working shoulder to shoulder with their Joby counterparts on a daily basis, collaborating on projects such as factory planning and layout, manufacturing process development and design for manufacturability. In 2023, we signed a long-term supply agreement with Toyota to supply key powertrain and actuation components for our aircraft.
We believe that our collaboration with Toyota has provided and continues to provide us with a significant competitive advantage as we design and build out our high-volume manufacturing capability. In addition to being the world’s largest automaker, Toyota is globally recognized for delivering quality, safety and reliability at scale, all of which are necessary characteristics in aerospace manufacturing. We believe this makes Toyota a strong collaboration partner as we continue to develop our high-volume manufacturing capabilities.
Uber Technologies, Inc.
We believe that our partnership with Uber Technologies, Inc. and our acquisition of Uber’s Elevate business, provides us with two important competitive advantages in our go-to-market planning and execution.
Through our 2021 acquisition of Elevate we welcomed experienced team members from Uber and acquired a set of software tools focused on planning and operations the Elevate team had developed over several years. We believe this positions us to make uniquely informed, data-driven decisions in the lead up to commercial launch, as well as accelerating our operational readiness.
Additionally, our collaboration agreement with Uber provides for the integration of our aerial ridesharing service into the Uber app across global markets. We believe this will provide a best-in-class platform to funnel demand to our aerial ridesharing service, while allowing us to reduce customer acquisition costs in the early years of commercial operations. Uber will also be reciprocally integrated into any future Joby Aviation mobile application on a non-exclusive basis to service the ground-based component of multi-modal journeys booked by customers through our application. In September 2025, we announced plans to integrate Blade’s air mobility services into the Uber app, and we are working with Uber to integrate ground transportation into our planned service in the UAE. The goal of this mutual integration is to ensure passengers can access a multi-modal travel experience, seamlessly transitioning from ground-to-air-to-ground with unified, one-click booking.
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
In October 2022, we entered into a collaboration agreement with Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”) to develop a long-term strategic relationship for a premium airport transportation service that we plan to offer to Delta passengers in select markets through the Delta booking platform. At the same time, Delta invested $60 million through a purchase of our common stock and also received warrants which, if exercised, could expand their total investment to $200 million. In January 2026, Delta exercised 7,000,000 warrants at an exercise price of $10 per share. We believe that our relationship with Delta, in addition to providing additional capital, will be another important method of customer acquisition when we launch our commercial
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passenger service, and will also provide opportunities to leverage Delta’s expertise in providing a seamless passenger experience and expertise in building out infrastructure at key airports.
U.S. Air Force
Throughout our company’s history, Joby has benefitted from a relationship with the United States Air Force (“USAF”). As a leader in eVTOL technology and a participant in numerous public-private sector programs, Joby has delivered value in multiple USAF programs and continues to target new ones.
In December 2020, we became, to our knowledge, the first company to receive airworthiness approval for an eVTOL aircraft from the USAF. In 2023, we marked our first delivery to a customer by delivering and flying the first eVTOL aircraft at Edwards Air Force base as part of our contract with the DOD, and in January 2025, we delivered our second aircraft under this contract. The Agility Prime program also supported our June 2024 flight of our hybrid hydrogen-electric demonstrator.
With growing USAF interest in hybrid powertrains and autonomy in aviation, we leveraged our existing aircraft platform to address these areas. In the summer of 2025, we participated in the USAF’s Resolute Force Pacific (“REFORPAC”) exercise, successfully demonstrating our Superpilot (TM) autonomous flight technology, logging over 7,000 miles of autonomous operations. We continue to work on autonomy programs with the USAF. Additionally, we are working with L3Harris on leveraging our platform to address opportunities to sell aircraft for defense applications. Just three months after announcing the aircraft concept and collaboration with L3Harris, we conducted the first flight of our turbine electric autonomous VTOL aircraft. The successful REFORPAC exercise positions Joby to compete for upcoming Department of Defense programs. In addition, our work with defense partners can inform future integration of autonomous capabilities into our commercial air taxi platform.
Dubai Road & Transport Authority
In 2024, Joby signed a definitive agreement with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (“RTA”) to launch air taxi services in the Emirate. The agreement provides Joby with the exclusive right to operate air taxis in Dubai for six years and secures a variety of support from the RTA, including financial mechanisms, for entry and maturing of service operations in Dubai.
Future Market Opportunities
We believe there are opportunities to address markets that are adjacent to our core mobility business, including delivery and logistics, communications, and emergency services. We may make select investments to address these market adjacencies over time.
We also believe that developments in advanced flight controls, battery technologies and alternative methods of energy storage could have a meaningful impact on our core mobility business. Advanced flight controls, including additional “pilot assist” features and, in time, fully-autonomous flight, may allow us to drive-down cost and lower customer pricing as well as relieve operational constraints to scaling our service. Improvements in battery technology or alternative methods of energy storage may allow us to increase the range, speed and/or payload of our vehicles, dramatically expanding the range of trips and use-cases we can serve.
We are investing, and will continue to invest, strategically in these areas to ensure that we are well-positioned to capture the benefits offered by these new developments. From time to time, we may seek to partner with or acquire, when appropriate, companies that have products, personnel, and technologies that complement our strategic direction. For example, we believe that other future technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cells or solid-state batteries, have the potential to play an important role in decarbonizing flight in the longer term and may seek to invest in or develop these opportunities as they arise. In 2021 we acquired H2FLY, which, in 2023, accomplished the world’s first piloted flight of a liquid hydrogen-powered electric aircraft. In 2024, using a fuel cell system designed and built by H2FLY, we successfully flew a hydrogen-electric demonstrator based off of our current aircraft design more than 500 miles. Additionally, in 2024 we acquired certain assets of the autonomy division of Xwing Inc., and the acquired technology was subsequently used to fly a fully-autonomous Cessna Caravan over 3,900 miles as part of the U.S. Air Force’s Agile Flag 24-3 exercise.
Intellectual Property
Our success depends in part upon our ability to protect our core technology and intellectual property. To establish and protect our proprietary rights, we rely on a combination of intellectual property rights (e.g., patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, including know-how and expertise) and contracts (e.g., license agreements,
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confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements with third parties, employee and contractor disclosure and invention assignment agreements, and other similar contractual rights).
As of January 31, 2026, we have over 330 issued or allowed patents (of which over 230 are U.S. filings) and over 250 pending patent applications (of which over 160 are U.S. filings). The patent portfolio is primarily related to eVTOL vehicle technology and UAM/aerial rideshare technology. We regularly file patent applications and from time to time acquire patents from third parties.
Our patent filings include over 190 issued or allowed patents and over 180 pending patent applications relating to our aircraft, its architecture, powertrain, acoustics, energy storage and distribution systems, flight control system and system resiliency, as well as certain additional aircraft configurations and technologies. Additionally, we have over 130 issued or allowed patents and over 70 pending patent applications related to aerial rideshare technology, such as fleet and infrastructure utilization, routing, air traffic coordination, rideshare software applications, vertiport infrastructure, and ancillary computer technologies.
Our Commitment to having a Positive Impact
By developing an efficient, all-electric aircraft with no operating emissions, a low noise footprint and multiple redundancies designed to enhance safety, we believe we can help reduce congestion in cities while also reducing the transportation sector’s environmental impact. We are building a dedicated workforce to achieve this goal while aiming to adhere to best practices in risk assessment, mitigation and corporate governance.
Our Board of Directors and management team oversee the company’s strategy and programs as it relates to corporate responsibility topics. At the board level, this specifically includes our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors. Topics range from the Company’s environmental impact, talent management and workforce development, and corporate governance practices.
Our Focus on Safety and Sustainable Manufacturing
With safety as a core value, we emphasize the importance of safety in everything that we do. This includes adherence to safety rules, best practices, and compliance standards. Every employee is trained in the safety policies and procedures that are relevant to their role, and we encourage all employees to participate in company-wide safety initiatives, including participating in our non-punitive safety reporting program to identify hazards and reduce risks. Employees are reminded that everyone is part of the safety team and we conduct regular audits with the goal of ensuring proper safety procedures are being used and that hazard identification and risk assessment information is being collected and acted on in a timely and appropriate manner.
Our engineering and design standards are designed with the goal of operating in a safe, efficient, sustainable and compliant manner, and encourage us to be leaders in pursuing environmentally friendly production practices. This is demonstrated in our energy and waste management programs. Our Sustainability team works closely with our operating units and Facilities teams to measure our energy consumption, identify reduction opportunities and implement energy efficiency measures. We strive to source renewable electricity for all primary facilities in the most cost effective manner, further reducing our manufacturing impact. In 2024, we increased our total renewable electricity procured by 19% while significantly increasing manufacturing capacity. Additionally, these teams along with our Environmental Health and Safety team ensure proper handling and disposal of our manufacturing materials including carbon fiber, spent batteries, and electronic waste. As our testing and production operations have scaled, we have continued to recycle our aircraft batteries, and any carbon fiber scraps are recycled into inputs for high strength steel. These programs allow us to streamline our manufacturing lines, reduce hazardous waste processing costs and reduce our impact.
Social and Human Capital
To achieve our goal of enabling the world to connect faster and more easily with the people and places that matter most, we will need to attract and retain employees with a diverse set of skills and perspectives as we grow our business. Many of our employees are located in highly competitive labor markets. In addition to competitive cash, benefits, and equity compensation, offering employees a compelling vision and an opportunity to positively impact their communities is a key part of our strategy to grow our workforce. Additionally, we invest in the communities where we operate, with programs enabling accessibility, education and training. This has multiple benefits including broadening the reach of new technologies such as electric aviation, improving awareness and acceptance to operate in communities, extending opportunities to underserved communities, and developing our future workforce. Our manufacturing apprentice program in
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our Marina, California location provides paid training opportunities for individuals with no prior experience to prepare them for fulfilling careers in aerospace manufacturing.
We work diligently to create a work environment that is welcoming for all. We provide equal opportunities for growth, success, promotion, learning and development. We encourage employee engagement through a variety of mechanisms including seminars and panel discussions where our employees can gather and discuss topics that are important to them and provide feedback on how we can better support their growth and career development. We are focused on building support across all teams and individuals, ensuring everyone has a voice, and treats each other with respect.
As of January 31, 2026, we had 2,559 employees. None of our employees are represented by a labor union. We believe we have good relationships with our employees and have not experienced any interruptions of operations due to labor disagreements.
Competition
We believe that the primary sources of competition for our service are ground-based mobility solutions, other eVTOL developers/operators and local/regional incumbent aircraft charter services.
We believe the primary factors that will drive success in the UAM market include:
• the performance of our eVTOL aircraft relative to both competitive eVTOL aircraft and traditional aircraft;
• the ability to certify the aircraft and begin service operations in a timely manner;
• the ability to manufacture efficiently at scale;
• the ability to scale the service adequately to drive down end-user pricing;
• the ability to capture first-mover advantage, if any;
• the ability to offer services and routes that provide adequate value proposition for passengers;
• the ability to develop or otherwise capture the benefits of next generation technologies; and
• the ability to deliver products and services to a high-level of quality, reliability and safety.
While there are differentiated approaches to vehicle designs and business models, we believe that our aircraft and vertically-integrated approach offer the greatest long-term prospects to certify and produce the best aircraft to serve our customers and, in turn, to monetize the full value chain from development through operations.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
In the course of conducting our business operations, we are exposed to a variety of risks. Any of the risk factors we describe below have affected or could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and brand. The market price of shares of our common stock could decline, possibly significantly or permanently, if one or more of these risks and uncertainties occurs. Certain statements in “Risk Factors” are forward-looking statements. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Certification & Regulatory
We may be unable to obtain relevant regulatory approvals for the commercialization of our aircraft or operation of our mobility service, either in the United States or in foreign markets.
The commercialization of new aircraft and the operation of an aerial mobility service requires certain regulatory authorizations and certifications, including Type Certification, Production Certification and an air carrier certificate issued by the FAA under Part 119 with Part 135 operations specifications. While we have received our Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate and anticipate being able to obtain the remaining required authorizations and certifications, we may be unable to do so on the timeline we project or at all. Circumstances outside of our control could delay the receipt of our required certifications. For example, FAA staffing depends, in large part, on the annual appropriations process and the agency’s ability to retain and recruit sufficient resources with relevant experience and expertise. Failure to pass an annual appropriation bill has in the past resulted in temporary government shutdowns. A future shutdown, or a failure by Congress to pass an FAA reauthorization bill (or extension) could delay the rulemaking and certification process. Additionally, recent focus on reducing the size of the federal workforce could negatively impact the availability of resources within the FAA which could delay our progress towards certification.
We are also pursuing certification of our aircraft and approval to operate our services in other countries. While many of these countries have established processes for validating a type certificate issued by the FAA, others, such as the UAE, are developing new processes to leverage our work with the FAA and provide a path for approval of initial operations that could precede type certification in the United States. The regulatory agencies charged with granting approval for our aircraft and our services in other countries may be subject to many of the same funding and staffing risks that exist in the United States. Additionally, pursuing certification and operations outside the United States is subject to additional risks, including regulatory regimes that may be less familiar to us or may have less experience in certifying and approving new and novel aircraft. If we fail to obtain any of the required authorizations or certificates, or do so in a timely manner, or any of these authorizations or certificates are modified, suspended or revoked after we obtain them, we may be unable to launch our commercial service or do so on the timelines we project and may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulatory authorities may disagree with our view that integrating our service into the National Airspace System is possible without changes to existing regulations and procedures.
There are a number of existing laws, regulations and standards that apply to our aircraft and our service, including standards that were not originally intended to apply to eVTOL aircraft or air taxi services. While our aircraft and our service are designed, at launch, to operate within the existing U.S. regulatory framework, the FAA or other regulatory authorities within the markets in which we intend to operate may disagree with this view, which may prohibit, restrict, or delay our ability to launch in the relevant market. In addition, any changes to the NAS, as a result of privatization or otherwise, could increase the costs to operate our service. Finally, regulatory authorities have in the past and may in the future introduce changes specifically to address high-volume flights that could delay our ability to launch our service and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If current airspace regulations are not modified to increase air traffic capacity, our business could be subject to considerable capacity limitations.
A failure to increase air traffic capacity in the airspace serving key markets, including around major airports, could create capacity limitations for our future operations and could have a material adverse effect on our business. Weaknesses in the NAS and the Air Traffic Control (“ATC”) system, such as outdated procedures and technologies, could result in capacity constraints during peak travel periods or adverse weather conditions, resulting in delays and disruptions to our service. While our aircraft is designed to operate in the NAS under existing rules, our business at scale will likely require airspace allocation for UAM operations and could result in regulatory changes. Our inability to obtain sufficient access to the NAS or to comply with any regulatory changes could increase our costs and pricing of our services, which could reduce demand and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Changes in government regulation could increase our operating costs or extend our certification timeline.
Aerospace manufacturers and aircraft operators are subject to extensive regulatory and legal requirements that involve significant compliance costs. In May 2022, the FAA decided to certify eVTOLs under the “powered lift” classification, rather than existing Part 23 requirements for Normal Category Airplanes. The FAA finalized the relevant operational regulations, or Special Federal Aviation Regulations (“SFARs”), for eVTOL aircraft in October 2024. If the FAA requires further modification to our existing G-1 certification basis, or if there are other regulatory changes or revisions to the SFARs or other regulations, this could delay our ability to obtain type certification, and could delay our ability to launch our commercial passenger service.
The DOT and the FAA could issue additional regulations relating to the operation of our aircraft or further revise existing requirements that could require significant expenditures, resulting in additional time to certification as well as increased costs for us and our passengers. Additional laws, regulations, taxes and airport rates and charges have been proposed from time to time that could significantly increase the cost of our operations or reduce the demand for air travel. If adopted, these measures could have the effect of raising fares, reducing revenue and increasing costs, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
To sell air transportation services in the United States, we will also need DOT authorization of the sale of any charter flights and by-the-seat ridesharing services. The DOT further prescribes standards for, among other things, advertising, ticket refunds, baggage liability, consumer disclosures, customer service commitments, customer complaints and the transportation of passengers with disabilities. In the future, the DOT may adopt additional regulations that increase the costs or otherwise adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be subject to security regulation that will increase our operating costs.
The Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) is responsible for certain civil aviation security matters, including the regulation of air carriers that operate under Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations as well as passenger and baggage screening at U.S. airports. Because we are introducing an innovative service that operates from both airports and vertiports, the security regulatory scheme that will apply is uncertain. If the TSA imposes burdensome security requirements on our services, it could reduce the convenience of our service for our customers, resulting in lower demand and higher cost and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to stringent U.S. export and import control laws and regulations, which may change. We may be unable to comply with these laws and regulations or U.S. government licensing policies, or to secure required authorizations in a timely manner.
Our business is subject to stringent U.S. import and export control laws and regulations as well as economic sanctions laws and regulations. We are required to import and export our products, software, technology and services, and run our operations in the United States, in full compliance with such laws and regulations, which may include the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”), the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”), and economic sanctions administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). Similar laws impact our business in other jurisdictions. These trade controls prohibit, restrict, or regulate our ability to, directly or indirectly, export or transfer certain hardware, technical data, technology, software, or services to certain countries and territories, entities, and individuals, and for certain end uses. If we are found to be in violation of these laws and regulations it could result in civil and criminal penalties, including the loss of export or import privileges, debarment and reputational harm. While none of our current technologies require us to maintain a registration under ITAR, we may become subject to ITAR in the future.
Pursuant to these trade control laws and regulations, we are required, among other things, to (i) determine the proper licensing jurisdiction and export classification of products, software and technology, and (ii) obtain licenses or other forms of authorization to conduct our business. These requirements include the need to get permission to release controlled technology to foreign person employees and other foreign persons. Changes in U.S. trade control laws and regulations, or reclassifications of our products or technologies, may restrict our operations. The inability to secure and maintain necessary licenses and other authorizations could negatively impact our ability to compete successfully or to operate our business as planned. Any changes in the export control regulations or U.S. licensing policy, such as those necessary to implement U.S. commitments to multilateral control regimes, may restrict our operations. Given the great discretion the government has in issuing or denying such authorizations, there can be no assurance we will be successful in our future efforts to secure and maintain necessary licenses, registrations, or other regulatory approvals which may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Global trade policies, including tariffs, could adversely affect our operations.
The global economy has recently seen a rise in tariffs and other protective trade measures. In 2025, significant new and expanded tariffs were imposed by the United States, and reciprocal tariffs were imposed by other countries. These tariffs
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have applied to a wide range of finished goods and raw materials. In some cases, these tariffs were later paused, modified or suspended, making it difficult to plan for or predict the ultimate impact of these tariffs. In response to the U.S. imposed tariffs and other geopolitical events, some countries have imposed or threatened to impose reciprocal tariffs, export restrictions and other protective trade measures. While we manufacture many of the components for our aircraft in the United States, our supply chain depends, in part, on components and raw materials acquired from third-party suppliers across the globe, particularly with respect to batteries and related materials. While tariffs have not had a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations to date due to the limited scale of our prototype manufacturing and focus on certification efforts, over time, new tariffs or other restrictions imposed in connection with trade wars or political instability could increase the costs of raw materials and other goods, both for us and our suppliers, and could make it difficult to source certain materials or components on which we rely for our production and certification efforts. This could impact our business, financial condition and prospects, particularly as we begin to scale our manufacturing operations and produce aircraft for commercial use. In addition, the imposition of tariffs and threats of tariffs has contributed to volatility in global equity markets which, we believe, has also impacted and may continue to impact the price of our common stock.
We are subject to rapidly changing and increasingly restrictive laws, regulations and other obligations relating to privacy, data protection, and data security, which may be costly and difficult to comply with.
Our Blade subsidiary collects, uses, and discloses personal information of passengers and others in the course of operating its business, and we will do so in connection with our air taxi services. These activities are regulated by a variety of domestic and foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection, and data security, which are complex, rapidly evolving, and increasingly restrictive.
Several states and foreign countries have granted residents expanded rights related to their personal information, including the right to request deletion of their personal information and receive detailed reports of how their personal information is used and shared. Such laws and any laws adopted in the future could have potentially conflicting requirements that would make compliance challenging.
Despite our best efforts, we may not be successful in complying with the rapidly evolving privacy, data protection, and data security requirements. Any actual or perceived non-compliance could result in litigation and proceedings against us by governmental entities, passengers, or others, which could result in fines, penalties, limited ability or inability to operate our business, offer services, or market our platform in certain jurisdictions, negative publicity and harm to our brand and reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Market & Service
The market for UAM has not been established with precision. Customers may be reluctant to adopt this new form of mobility, or to pay our projected prices.
Our growth is highly dependent upon consumer adoption of an entirely new form of mobility offered by eVTOL aircraft and the UAM market. If the public does not perceive UAM as beneficial, chooses not to adopt this new form of mobility, or is unwilling to pay the prices we project for our services, then the market for our offerings may not develop, may develop more slowly than we expect or may not achieve the growth potential we expect. As a result, the number of potential passengers using our services cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to operate in a profitable manner in any of our targeted markets. Our success in a given market will depend on our ability to develop a service network that provides passengers significant time savings when compared with alternative modes of transportation and accurately assess and predict passenger demand and price sensitivity, which may fluctuate based on a variety of factors, including general economic conditions, quality of service, negative publicity, safety incidents, perceived political or geopolitical affiliations, or general dissatisfaction with our services. If we fail to attract passengers, deliver sufficient value to our passengers, or accurately predict demand and price sensitivity, it could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may face delays in launching our commercial service.
We will need to address significant regulatory, political, operational, logistical, and other challenges in order to launch our commercial service. We do not currently have infrastructure in place to operate the service and such infrastructure may not be available or may be occupied on an exclusive basis by competitors. We also have not yet received FAA certification of our aircraft or other required airspace or operational authority and approvals, which are essential to operate our service, and for aircraft production and operation.
Our pre-certification operations may also reveal issues with our aircraft design, which could result in certification delays. For example, in February 2022, one of our remotely piloted, experimental prototype aircraft was involved in an accident during flight testing. Although the accident did not have a significant impact on our business operations or certification timing, any similar event occurring closer in time to the launch of our commercial service could result in significant delays.
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Any delay in the financing, design, manufacture and commercial release of our aircraft, which are often experienced by aircraft manufacturers, could materially damage our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
Errors or vulnerabilities in software code could harm our business.
The application through which users will book trips is still under development. We may experience difficulty in developing the applications necessary to operate the business, including the customer-facing application. The software underlying the application will be complex and may contain undetected errors or vulnerabilities, some of which may only be discovered after the code has been released. The third-party software that we incorporate into our platform may also be subject to errors or vulnerabilities. Any errors or vulnerabilities, whether in our proprietary code or any third-party software on which we rely, could result in negative publicity, a loss of users or revenue, access or other performance issues, security incidents, or other liabilities. Such vulnerabilities could also prevent passengers from booking flights, which would adversely affect our passenger utilization rates, or disrupt communications within the Company (e.g., flight schedules or passenger manifests), which could affect our performance. We may need to expend significant financial and development resources to address any errors or vulnerabilities. Any failure to timely and effectively resolve any such errors or vulnerabilities could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations as well as negatively impact our reputation or brand.
We may be unable to reduce end-user pricing at rates sufficient to drive growth for our service.
We may not be able to reduce end-user pricing over time to increase demand, address new market segments and develop a significantly broader customer base. We expect that our initial end-user pricing may be most attractive to relatively affluent consumers, and we will need to address new markets and expand our customer base in order to further grow our business. In time, we intend for our aerial ridesharing service to be economically accessible to a broad segment of the population and appeal to the customers of ground-based ridesharing services, taxis, and other methods of transportation.
Reducing end-user pricing is dependent on accurately estimating the unit economics of our aircraft and the corresponding service. Our estimates rely, in part, on future technology advancements, such as aerial and ground-based autonomy. If our estimates are inaccurate regarding factors such as production volumes, utilization rates, demand elasticity, operating conditions, deployment volumes, production costs, cost of goods sold, landing fees, charging fees, electricity availability and/or other operating expenses, or if technology such as aerial and ground-based autonomy fails to develop, mature or be commercially available within the periods we expect, we may be unable to offer our service at pricing that is sufficiently compelling to bring about the local network effects that we are predicting, and this may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our competitors may commercialize their technology before us, or we may not be able to fully capture the first mover advantage that we anticipate.
While we believe we are well positioned to be first to market with an eVTOL piloted aerial ridesharing service, we expect this industry to be increasingly competitive and our competitors could get to market before or at the same time as us, either generally or in specific markets. Even if we are first to market, we may not fully realize the benefits we anticipate, and we may not receive any competitive advantage or may be overcome by other competitors. If new or existing companies launch competing solutions in the markets in which we intend to operate and obtain large scale capital investment, we may face increased competition. Additionally, our competitors may benefit from our efforts in developing consumer and community acceptance for eVTOL aircraft and aerial ridesharing, making it easier for them to obtain the permits and authorizations required to operate an aerial ridesharing service.
Many of our current and potential competitors are larger and have substantially greater resources or are affiliated with larger companies that may allocate greater resources than we have and expect to have in the future, which may allow them to devote greater resources to the development, certification and marketing of their products and services or to offer lower prices. Our competitors may also establish strategic relationships amongst themselves or with third parties that may further enhance their resources and offerings. Some have more experience in the aerospace industry than we have, and foreign competitors could benefit from subsidies or other protective measures offered by their home countries. If our competitors commercialize their technology before us, or if we do not capture the first mover advantage that we anticipate, it may harm our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
If we are unable to integrate our service with ground transportation services it may limit customer adoption and harm our business.
Our service will depend, in part, on third-party ground operators to take customers from their origin to their departure vertiport and from their arrival vertiport to their ultimate destination. While we expect to be able to integrate these third-party ground operators into our service, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so effectively, at prices that are favorable to us, or at all. We do not intend to own or operate the ground portion of our multimodal service. Our business
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and our brand will be affiliated with these third-party ground operators, and we may experience harm to our reputation if they suffer from financial instability, poor service, negative publicity, accidents, or safety incidents which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Customers may not differentiate our services from our competitors.
Passengers and other stakeholders may not differentiate between us and the broader aviation industry or, more specifically, the UAM service industry. If other participants in this market have problems related to matters such as safety, technology development, engagement with certification authorities or other regulators, community engagement, security, data privacy, flight delays, or customer service, such problems could impact the public perception of the entire industry, including our business. We may fail to adequately differentiate our brand, our services and our aircraft from others in the market which could impact our ability to attract passengers or engage with other key stakeholders and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our prospects may be adversely affected by changes in consumer preferences, discretionary spending and other economic conditions that affect demand for our services.
Our business is primarily concentrated on UAM services, which we expect may be vulnerable to changes in consumer preferences, discretionary spending and other market changes. The global economy has in the past, and will in the future, experience periods of economic instability, inflation and recession. During such periods, passengers may reduce overall spending on discretionary purchases. Such changes could result in reduced consumer demand for our services, which could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we are unable to obtain and maintain adequate facilities and infrastructure, including access to key infrastructure such as airports, we may be unable to offer our service in a way that is useful to passengers.
To operate and expand our proposed aerial ridesharing service, we must secure or otherwise develop adequate landing, charging and maintenance infrastructure in desirable locations. We may not be able to ensure that our plans can be implemented in a commercially viable manner given present landing fee structures and infrastructure constraints, including those that may exist at desirable locations and increasingly congested airports and heliports. Access to these facilities may be prohibitively expensive, unavailable, or may be inconsistent with our projections. Additionally, our industry has not aligned around a single charging standard. While we have developed a charging system designed to support all types of electric aircraft, if vertiport operators select a different charging system it could result in longer charge times and increase our operating costs.
There is also a complex patchwork of federal, regional and municipal regulatory considerations applicable to asset management and property development in general, and aviation assets and infrastructure in particular. These regulations can vary widely by locality. Local community groups, some of which may be opposed to property development in general, and new aviation infrastructure in particular, can impact the application of these regulations or the development of new regulations. We may not be able to obtain necessary permits and approvals to make necessary infrastructure changes to enable adoption of our aircraft, such as installation of charging equipment. If we are unable to acquire or maintain space for passenger terminal or maintenance operations in desirable locations, this could prevent our service from being practical for our customers and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our aircraft utilization may be lower than expected due to weather and other factors.
Our aircraft may not be able to fly in poor weather conditions, including snowstorms, thunderstorms, high winds, lightning, hail, known icing conditions and/or fog. Our inability to operate in these conditions will reduce our aircraft utilization and cause delays and disruptions in our services. We intend to maintain a high daily aircraft utilization rate, which is the amount of time our aircraft spend in the air carrying passengers. This is achieved, in part, by reducing turnaround times at vertiports. Aircraft utilization is reduced by delays and cancellations from various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including adverse weather conditions, security requirements, air traffic congestion and unscheduled maintenance events. The success of our business is dependent, in part, on the utilization rate of our aircraft, and reductions in utilization will adversely impact our financial performance, cause passenger dissatisfaction and may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Aircraft and Production
Our aircraft may fail to achieve performance expectations.
Our aircraft may fail to achieve our performance expectations. For example, our aircraft may have a higher noise profile, carry a lower payload or have shorter maximum range than we estimate. Our aircraft also use a substantial amount of software code to operate. Software is inherently complex and often contains defects and errors when first introduced. While we have performed extensive testing, in some instances we are still relying on projections and models to validate the
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expected performance of our aircraft. To date, we have been unable to validate the performance of our aircraft over the expected lifetime of the aircraft. We may incur significant costs to address any performance issues, or if not detected or addressed, such issues could negatively impact our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
We expect to introduce new and additional features and capabilities to the aircraft and our service over time through block upgrades. For example, we may implement the ability to operate under IFR conditions or advancements to battery or other technologies that may increase our range or other performance specifications pursuant to block upgrades to the aircraft. We may be unable to develop or certify these upgrades in a timely manner or at all which may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may not be able to produce aircraft in the volumes and on the timelines we project.
There are significant challenges associated with producing aircraft in the volumes that we are projecting. Our manufacturing facility and processes are in the early pre-type-certification production stage. The aerospace industry has traditionally been characterized by significant barriers to entry, including large capital requirements, investment costs of designing and manufacturing aircraft, long lead times to bring aircraft to market, the need for specialized design and development expertise, extensive regulatory requirements, and the need to establish maintenance and service locations. As a manufacturer of electric aircraft, we face a variety of added barriers to entry including additional costs of developing and producing an electric powertrain, regulations associated with the transport of lithium-ion batteries, and unproven customer demand for a fully electric aerial mobility service and aircraft. Additionally, we are developing production lines for components and at volumes for which there is little precedent within the traditional aerospace industry.
We have not yet constructed a high-volume production facility in which to manufacture and assemble our aircraft. Final designs for the build out of the planned manufacturing facility are still in process, and various aspects of the component procurement and manufacturing plans have not yet been determined. We are currently evaluating, qualifying and selecting our suppliers for the planned production aircraft, and we have engaged suppliers for certain necessary components. However, we may not be able to engage suppliers for the remaining components in a timely manner, at an acceptable price, in the necessary quantities or at all.
We will need to do extensive testing to ensure that the aircraft is in compliance with all applicable regulations prior to beginning scaled production. In addition to certification of the aircraft, we will be required to obtain approval from the FAA to manufacture completed aircraft pursuant to an FAA-approved type certificate. Production approval involves initial FAA manufacturing approval and extensive ongoing oversight of aircraft production. If we are unable to obtain production approval for the aircraft, or the FAA imposes unanticipated restrictions as a condition of approval, our projected costs of production could increase substantially.
The timing of our production ramp is dependent upon finalizing certain aspects of the design, engineering, component procurement, testing, build out, and manufacturing plans in a timely manner and upon our ability to execute these plans within the current timeline. It also depends on being able to obtain timely Production Certification from the FAA and sufficient staffing to support production objectives. We intend to fund the build out of our manufacturing facility using existing cash and future financing opportunities. If we are unable to obtain the funds required on the timeline that we anticipate, our plans for building our manufacturing plants could be delayed. If any of the foregoing risks occurs, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
Crashes, accidents or incidents of eVTOL and other aircraft could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Test flying prototype aircraft is inherently risky, and crashes, accidents or incidents involving our aircraft are possible. In February 2022, one of our remotely piloted, experimental prototype aircraft was involved in an accident during flight testing. Although the accident did not have a significant impact on our business operations or certification timing, any other such occurrence in the future could negatively impact our development, testing and certification efforts, and could result in re-design, certification delay and/or postponements or delays to our commercial service launch.
Operating aircraft is subject to various risks, and we expect demand for our aerial ridesharing services to be impacted by accidents or other safety issues regardless of whether such accidents or issues involve our aircraft. Such accidents or incidents could also have a material impact on our ability to obtain or maintain FAA certification for our aircraft and could impact confidence in our aircraft type or the eVTOL industry as a whole, particularly if such accidents were due to a safety issue. We believe that regulators and the general public are still forming their opinions about the safety and utility of aircraft that are highly reliant on lithium-ion batteries and advanced flight control software capabilities and that operate in and around urban areas. An accident or incident involving either our aircraft or a competitor’s aircraft while these opinions are being formed could have a disproportionate impact on the longer-term view of the emerging UAM market.
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Additionally, adverse publicity stemming from actual or alleged behavior of any of our employees or third-party contractors could expose us to significant reputational harm and potential legal liability. The insurance we carry may be inapplicable or inadequate to cover any such matter, in which case we may be forced to bear substantial losses. Any such incident, even if unrelated to the safety of our aircraft or our services, could result in passengers being reluctant to use our services, which could adversely impact our business, results of operations, financial conditions and prospects.
We will initially rely on a single type of aircraft to support our commercial UAM business, which makes us vulnerable to design defects or mechanical problems.
Our service will initially rely on a single aircraft type. Our dependence on our aircraft makes us particularly vulnerable to any design defects, performance shortfalls or mechanical problems associated with our aircraft or its component parts. Any actual or perceived safety issues may result in significant reputational harm to our businesses, in addition to legal liability, increased maintenance, safety infrastructure and other costs. Such issues could result in delaying or cancelling planned flights, increased regulation, grounding of aircraft or other systemic consequences, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
We depend on suppliers and service partners for raw materials, parts and components.
Despite our high degree of vertical integration, we still rely on purchased parts and materials for aircraft production and manufacturing equipment which we source from suppliers globally, some of whom are currently single source suppliers. Many of the components used in our aircraft must be custom made for us. This exposes us to multiple potential sources of production constraints, disruption, delivery failure, or component shortages. While we believe that we may be able to establish alternate supply relationships and can obtain replacement components, we may be unable to do so in the short term, or at all, at prices that are favorable to us. While we have not experienced material supply chain disruptions to date, we may in the future, which could cause delays in our production process for both prototype and commercial production aircraft. Furthermore, if we experience significant increased demand, or need to replace our existing suppliers, there can be no assurance that additional supplies will be available when required on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. The disruption in the supply of components from suppliers could lead to delays in aircraft production, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
Our aircraft may require maintenance at frequencies or at costs which are unexpected.
Our aircraft will require regular maintenance and support. We are still developing our understanding of the long-term maintenance profile of the aircraft. If useful lifetimes are shorter than expected this may lead to greater maintenance costs than we anticipate. If our aircraft and related equipment require maintenance more frequently than we plan for or at costs that exceed our estimates, that would disrupt the operation of our service and result in higher operating costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
U.S. Government Contracts and Pre-Certification Operations
The U.S. government may modify or terminate one or more of our existing contracts.
The U.S. government may modify or terminate its contracts with us, without prior notice and at its convenience. In addition, funding may be reduced or withheld as part of the annual U.S. Congressional appropriations process due to fiscal constraints, changing priorities or other reasons. Any loss or reduction of expected funding and/or modification or termination of one or more of our U.S. government contracts could have a material adverse effect on our access to government testing facilities and/or our ability to secure pre-certification operating experience and/or revenues, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be unable to grow our relationship with the U.S. government and the Department of Defense.
We may enter into additional contracts with the U.S. government which would enable us to operate our aircraft as a service provider for the Department of Defense or other U.S. government agencies both prior to receiving an airworthiness certificate from the FAA and after. While we believe we are uniquely qualified to participate in future initiatives, particularly those related to autonomous flight and hybrid aircraft, there can be no guarantees of our ability to negotiate and secure additional contracts in these areas. Failure to obtain these contracts could limit our ability to gain additional operational learnings about our aircraft and secure meaningful revenue, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We conduct a portion of our business pursuant to U.S. government contracts, which are subject to unique risks.
Contracts with the U.S. government are subject to extensive regulations. New regulations, or changes to existing regulations, could result in increased compliance costs, and we could be subject to withheld payments and/or reduced future business if we fail to comply with new or existing requirements in the future. Compliance costs attributable to current or future regulations such as these could negatively impact our financial condition and operating results.
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Contracts with the U.S. government are also subject to a variety of other requirements and risks including government reviews, audits, investigations, False Claims Act cases, suspension and debarment as well as other legal actions and proceedings that generally do not apply to purely commercial contracts. In addition, transactions involving government contractors may be subject to government review and approvals. Failure to comply with these requirements or secure necessary approvals could negatively impact our business, financial condition and operating results.
Risks Related to our Blade Air Charter Operations
We may not realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisition of Blade, and the acquisition may expose us to integration challenges, additional liabilities and costs, and potential dilution.
Successfully integrating Blade’s business and operations, retaining key personnel, and realizing anticipated benefits will require significant management attention and could divert resources from our core aircraft development, certification and manufacturing efforts. In addition, our acquisition agreement provides for additional payments of up to $45 million that may become payable in the future. We may elect to satisfy all or a portion of these payments in shares of our common stock. Any issuance of shares could be dilutive to our stockholders and could depress our stock price, and any failure to achieve expected benefits from the acquisition could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may not recognize the expected benefits of our acquisition of the Blade business, including market access, an established customer base, operational expertise, airport relationships and infrastructure across key markets. Following certification of our eVTOL aircraft, we intend to begin integrating that aircraft into our Blade operations over time. If we are unable to integrate and operate the Blade business, this could harm our broader eVTOL commercialization strategy and ultimately impact our business, financial condition and operating results.
We could suffer losses and adverse publicity stemming from accidents involving small aircraft, helicopters, or charter flights generally and, in particular, from any accident or incident involving Blade charter flights.
Aircraft operations are subject to various risks, and demand for air transportation has been and may in the future be impacted by accidents or other safety issues regardless of whether such accidents or issues involve Blade charter flights. Hazards, such as adverse weather conditions, fire or mechanical failures, could result in death or injury to personnel and passengers which could impact passenger confidence and could lead to a reduction in volume, particularly if such accidents were due to a safety issue.
We believe that safety and reliability are two of the primary attributes passengers consider when selecting air transportation services. Our failure, or that of our third-party operators, to maintain standards of safety and reliability that are satisfactory to our customers may adversely impact our ability to retain current customers and attract new customers. We are at risk of adverse publicity stemming from any public incident involving our company, our people, or our brand. Such an incident could involve the actual or alleged behavior of any of our employees or third-party aircraft operators. Further, if our personnel, one of our third-party operators’ aircraft, or one of our third-party operators’ Blade-branded aircraft, is involved in an incident, accident, or regulatory enforcement action, which could be attributed, in part, to a lack of sufficient safety auditing, we could be exposed to significant reputational harm and potential legal liability. Blade-branded aircraft have in the past been involved in accidents and despite our best efforts, there can be no guarantee that such events will not occur in the future. The insurance we carry may be inapplicable or inadequate to cover any such incident or accident, or regulatory action. In the event that our insurance is inapplicable or inadequate, we may be forced to bear substantial losses from an incident or accident. In addition, any such incident, accident, or action involving our employees, one of the Blade-branded aircraft used by us belonging to our third-party operators’ fleet (or personnel and aircraft of our third-party operators), or the same type of aircraft as used by our third-party operators could create an adverse public perception, which could harm our reputation, resulting in current or prospective customers being reluctant to use our services and adversely impacting our business, results of operations, and financial condition. If one or more of our third-party aircraft operators were to suffer an accident or lose the ability to fly certain aircraft due to safety concerns or investigations, we may be required to cancel or delay certain flights until replacement aircraft and personnel are obtained.
The markets for our Blade offerings are still in relatively early stages of growth, and such markets may not continue to grow, or may grow more slowly than we expect.
Blade’s urban air mobility services have grown rapidly, however, our service offerings are still relatively new, and it is uncertain to what extent market acceptance will continue to grow, if at all. We currently operate our Blade offering in a limited number of metropolitan areas. The success of these markets to date and the opportunity for future growth in these markets may not be representative of the potential market for urban air mobility in other metropolitan areas. In new markets, the lack of brand recognition may result in difficulties gaining and retaining customers and building partnerships with local entities. In addition, competition in new markets may be strong, with established companies and new entrants
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offering similar services. The potential intense competition and limited brand recognition could make it difficult for us to establish a strong market position and generate profitable returns.
Growth of our Blade offering will require significant investments in our infrastructure, technology, and marketing and sales efforts. Historically, cash flow from Blade operations has not been sufficient to support these needs and additional cash flow required to support the Blade offering could negatively impact our core eVTOL operations. Further, our ability to effectively manage growth and expansion of Blade operations may require us to enhance operational systems, internal controls and infrastructure, human resources policies, and reporting systems, which could require significant capital expenditures and allocation of valuable resources.
If we are unable to obtain and maintain adequate facilities and infrastructure, we may be unable to offer our existing Blade flight schedule and to expand our route network in the future.
To operate our existing and proposed schedule and, where desirable, add service along new or existing routes, we must be able to maintain or obtain space for passenger terminals. As airports and heliports around the world become more congested, it may not be possible for us to ensure that our plans for new service can be implemented in a commercially viable manner, given operating constraints at airports and heliports throughout our network, including those imposed by inadequate facilities at desirable locations. Any limitation on our ability to acquire or maintain space for passenger terminal operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Blade leases and licenses exclusive passenger terminal infrastructure from airport and heliport operators in key markets. These leases, licenses, and permits vary in term, ranging from month-to-month permits to multi-year use and occupancy agreements that are coterminous with the airport or heliport operator’s underlying lease with the municipality that owns the premises. While our experience with these multi-year use and occupancy agreements have led to long-term uninterrupted usage thus far, certain municipalities, including New York, retain the authority to terminate a heliport operator’s lease upon as short as 30 days’ notice. If a municipality exercised its termination rights, under certain conditions, our agreements with the airport or heliport operator would concurrently terminate. Termination of one or more of our leases could negatively impact our ability to provide services in our existing markets and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We rely on our third-party operators to provide and operate aircraft. If such third-party operators do not perform adequately or terminate their relationships with us, our costs may increase.
We rely on third-party contractors to own and operate aircraft. Should we experience complications with any of these third-party contractors or their aircraft, we may need to delay or cancel flights. We have experienced, and may in the future experience, operational complications with our contractors. The ability of our contractors to effectively satisfy our requirements could also be impacted by any such contractor’s financial difficulty or damage to their operations caused by fire, terrorist attack, natural disaster and public health threats. The failure of any contractors to perform to our expectations could result in delayed or canceled flights and harm our business. Our reliance on contractors and our inability to fully control any operational difficulties with our third-party contractors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Illegal, improper, or otherwise inappropriate operation of branded aircraft by our third-party aircraft operators, regardless of whether they are operating aircraft on our behalf, could harm our reputation, business, brand, financial condition, and results of operations.
Some of our third-party aircraft operators operate Blade-branded aircraft on a non-exclusive basis, enabling them to utilize Blade-branded aircraft for flight operations unrelated to Blade. If our third-party aircraft operators were to operate Blade-branded aircraft, regardless of whether such aircraft is flying on our behalf, in an illegal, improper, or otherwise inappropriate manner, such as violating local noise-abatement regulations or ignoring suggested noise-abatement flight paths and procedures, we could be exposed to significant reputational harm. While we have implemented various measures intended to anticipate, identify, and address the risk of these types of activities, these measures may not adequately address or prevent all illegal, improper, or otherwise inappropriate activity by our third-party aircraft operators. Negative publicity related to the foregoing, whether or not such incident occurred while flying on our behalf, could adversely affect our reputation and brand or public perception of the urban air mobility industry as a whole, which could negatively affect demand for platforms like ours and potentially lead to increased regulatory or litigation exposure. Any of the foregoing risks could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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Risks Related to Our Finances and Operations
We have incurred significant losses since inception, we expect to incur losses in the future, and we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability.
We have incurred significant losses since inception. We incurred net losses of $929.8 million, $608.0 million and $513.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We have not yet started commercial operations, and it is difficult for us to predict our future operating results. As a result, our losses may be larger than anticipated, and we may not achieve profitability when expected, or at all, and even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase profitability.
We expect our operating expenses to increase over the next several years as we move towards commercial launch, expand our manufacturing operations, increase our flight cadence, hire more employees and continue research and development efforts relating to new products and technologies. These efforts may be more costly than we expect and may not result in increased revenue or growth in our business. Any failure to generate revenue sufficient to keep pace with our investments and other expenses could prevent us from achieving or maintaining profitability or positive cash flow. Furthermore, if our future growth and operating performance fail to meet investor or analyst expectations, or if we have future negative cash flow or losses resulting from our investment in acquiring customers or expanding our operations, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We will need additional capital in the future, including to build high-volume manufacturing, and to develop a vertiport network to support a high-volume service.
Our proposed operations contemplate significant manufacturing capacity, aircraft fleet and infrastructure development, including additional vertiports where our aircraft can land, both within the United States and internationally. Construction of manufacturing facilities, vertiports or other operating facilities will require significant capital expenditures, as will future expansion of and improvements to our operations. Although we intend to partner with third-party owners and operators for some of these facilities, we cannot be assured that such partnership opportunities will be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
In addition, as our facilities and aircraft mature, our business will require capital expenditures for the maintenance, renovation and improvement of such locations to remain competitive. This creates an ongoing need for capital, and, to the extent we cannot fund capital expenditures from cash flows from operations, we will need to borrow or otherwise obtain funds.
In the future, we may need to raise capital through public or private financing or other arrangements. Such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and our failure to raise capital when needed could harm our business. We may sell equity securities or debt securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner that may materially dilute our current investors. For example, in 2025 we sold 35,075,000 shares of our common stock at a price per share of $16.85 in an underwritten public offering for net proceeds of $575.9 million, and sold 49,701,790 shares of our common stock to Toyota at a price per share of $5.03 pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement we signed in October 2024 for net proceeds of $249.9 million. We also entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement in December 2024 for the sale of up to an additional $300.0 million of our common stock in an “at the market” offering of which we sold 29,950,799 shares during 2024 and 2025 for net proceeds of $282.4 million. Any debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants that could reduce our operational flexibility or profitability and may result in a significant financial burden if interest rates remain high for a prolonged period or increase in the future. If we cannot raise funds on acceptable terms, we may not be able to grow our business or respond to competitive pressures which may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Toyota Investment is subject to closing conditions, including conditions beyond our control, and no assurance can be given that the second tranche closing will take place on the timeline currently anticipated or at all. Any failure to close the second tranche of the Toyota Investment could adversely impact our future liquidity and our financial condition.
On October 1, 2024, we entered into the Stock Purchase Agreement with Toyota providing for the potential issuance and sale of up to an aggregate of 99,403,579 shares of our common stock to Toyota (the “Toyota Investment”). The Toyota Investment is structured in two equal tranches of $250.0 million each. The closing of each tranche is subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions set forth in the Stock Purchase Agreement. The first tranche closing occurred in May 2025. The second tranche is subject to conditions including, but not limited to the execution of a strategic alliance agreement relating to, among other things, manufacturing arrangements, by us and Toyota and certain other customary closing conditions. The agreements to be entered into in connection with such conditions are subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals, the parties negotiating and entering into definitive agreements and the conditions included within the applicable definitive documents.
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We may experience delays and difficulties in satisfying the conditions for closing the second tranche of the Toyota Investment, and no assurance can be given that closing will take place on the timeline currently anticipated or at all. Some of the conditions to closing are outside of our control and it is possible that not all of the closing conditions to the Toyota Investment will be satisfied or that we will not receive the entire amount of expected proceeds on the timeline currently anticipated or at all. For example, certain closing conditions require us and Toyota to successfully negotiate and enter into definitive agreements. The final terms of such definitive agreements are not yet established and the negotiation and execution of such agreements may take longer than expected or may not be possible to accomplish on terms acceptable to us, or at all. No assurance can be given that any agreement we may reach will achieve our goals or be on terms that prove to be economically or strategically beneficial to us. Such adverse developments, including any failure to close the second tranche of the Toyota Investment, could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
We have broad discretion in how we use our assets, and we may not use them effectively.
Our management has broad discretion in the use of our assets, including capital raised. We may use capital for general corporate purposes, including working capital, operating expenses, and capital expenditures, and we may acquire complementary businesses, products, offerings, or technologies. We may also spend or invest in a way with which our stockholders disagree. If our management fails to use our capital effectively, our business could be seriously harmed.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
As of December 31, 2025, Joby had approximately $1,662.0 million and $601.0 million of federal and state net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) and $105.1 million and $60.0 million federal and state research and development tax credits. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, federal NOLs generated by the Company in tax years through December 31, 2017 may be carried forward for 20 years and may fully offset taxable income in the year utilized and federal NOLs generated by the Company in tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 may be carried forward indefinitely but may only be used to offset 80% of our taxable income annually. Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change federal NOLs and other tax attributes (such as research and development tax credits) to offset its post-change income and taxes may be limited. In general, an “ownership change” occurs if there is a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in a corporation’s equity ownership by certain stockholders over a rolling three-year period. We may have experienced ownership changes in the past and may experience ownership changes in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership (some of which shifts are outside our control). As a result, our ability to use our pre-change federal NOLs and other tax attributes to offset future taxable income and taxes could be subject to limitations. Similar provisions of state tax law may also apply. For these reasons, even if we achieve profitability, we may be unable to use a material portion of our NOLs and other tax attributes which may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and our ability to comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.
As a public company we are required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for each annual report on Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC. This assessment needs to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. Additionally, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. An adverse report may be issued if our auditor is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed, or operating.
In connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting which was fully remediated as of the year ended December 31, 2023. If we fail to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in errors in our financial statements that may lead to a restatement of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. In addition, our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and fraud. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.
In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costs and significant management oversight. If any of these new or improved controls and systems, or the existing systems and third-party
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software applications that we rely on for financial reporting, do not perform as expected, we may experience further deficiencies in our controls and we may not be able to meet our financial reporting obligations.
If there are material weaknesses or failures in our ability to meet any of the requirements related to the maintenance and reporting of our internal control, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and that could cause the price of our common stock to decline. In addition, we could become subject to investigations by the SEC, the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional management attention and which could adversely affect our business.
We may be unable to protect our intellectual property rights from unauthorized use by third parties.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary intellectual property rights, including technologies deployed in our current or future aircraft or utilized in arranging air transportation. To date, we have relied primarily on patents and trade secrets to protect our proprietary technology. Our software is also subject to certain protection under copyright law, though we have chosen not to register any of our copyrights to date. We routinely enter into non-disclosure agreements with our employees, consultants, third parties and others and take other measures to protect our intellectual property rights, such as limiting access to our trade secrets and other confidential information. We intend to continue to rely on these and other means, including patent protection, in the future. However, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property may be inadequate or circumvented, and unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or misuse aspects of our intellectual property, or otherwise improperly obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. If successful, these attempts may harm our ability to compete, may benefit our competitors’ programs, including by accelerating their development, and/or harm our competitive position in the market. Further, we may not be able to prevent or seek redress for infringement upon our intellectual property rights without incurring substantial time and expense, or at all. For example, in November 2025, we filed a complaint against a competitor and a former employee alleging, among other things, breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets related to the improper acquisition, retention, and use of our confidential and proprietary business information and trade secrets.
Moreover, our non-disclosure agreements do not prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to ours. Our competitors or third parties may not comply with the terms of these agreements, and we may not be able to successfully enforce such agreements or obtain sufficient remedies if they are breached. In addition, we accept government funding for the development of some intellectual property which may result in the government obtaining some rights in our intellectual property. The intellectual property rights we own or license may not provide competitive advantages and could be challenged or circumvented by our competitors.
Further, obtaining and maintaining patent, copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property protections can be costly. We may choose not to, or may fail to, pursue or maintain such forms of protection for our technology in the United States or foreign jurisdictions, which could harm our ability to maintain our competitive advantage in such jurisdictions. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our technology before it is too late to obtain patent protection, that we will be unable to devote the resources to file and prosecute all patent applications for such technology, or that we will lose protection for failing to comply with all procedural, documentary, payment, and other obligations during the patent prosecution process. The laws of some countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and mechanisms for enforcement of intellectual property rights in some foreign countries may be inadequate to prevent other parties from infringing our proprietary technology. We may also fail to detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property, or be required to expend significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights, including engaging in litigation, which may be costly, time-consuming, and divert the attention of management and resources, and may not ultimately be successful. If we fail to meaningfully establish, maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property rights, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
If conflicts arise between us and our strategic partners, our business could be adversely affected, or these parties may act in a manner adverse to us.
If conflicts arise between our collaborators or strategic partners and us, the other party may act in a manner adverse to us which could limit our ability to implement our strategies. Our collaborators or strategic partners may develop, either alone or with others, products in related fields that are competitive with our products. Specifically, conflicts with Toyota Motor Corporation could adversely impact our ability to manufacture aircraft or scale production, while conflicts with Uber Technologies, Inc. and Delta Air Lines could adversely impact our ability to successfully launch and maintain our consumer-facing UAM services. Conflicts with foreign partners could adversely impact our ability to scale operations outside the U.S. effectively. If such conflicts arise, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We may invest significant resources in developing new offerings and exploring the application of our proprietary technologies for other uses and those opportunities may never materialize.
While our primary focus is on the design, manufacture and operation of our eVTOL aircraft and the related aerial mobility service, we may invest significant resources in developing new technologies, services, products and offerings. For example, our subsidiary, H2FLY, is working on the development of an optimized fuel cell system for hydrogen-electric aircraft. In 2024 we acquired the assets of the autonomy division of Xwing Inc., and in 2025 announced a collaboration with L3Harris Technologies on a gas-turbine hybrid variant of our aircraft for defense applications. Additionally, in August 2025 we acquired the Blade passenger business. Our initiatives related to new offerings and technologies can have a high degree of risk and involve unproven business strategies and technologies with which we have limited operating or development experience. Further, we have and may in the future seek to acquire or invest in businesses, applications or technologies that we believe could compliment or expand our technical or other capabilities or otherwise offer growth opportunities. However, we may not realize the expected benefits of these investments and we cannot assure you that we would be able to successfully complete any acquisition or investment we choose to pursue, or that we would be able to successfully integrate any acquired personnel, operations, business, product or technology in a cost-effective and non-disruptive manner. In addition, we may not be able to successfully or effectively manage the combined business following an acquisition. The pursuit of these potential opportunities may divert the attention of management and cause us to incur costs and expenses in identifying, investigating and pursuing suitable acquisitions and other opportunities, whether or not they are consummated. In addition, such opportunities may involve claims and liabilities, expenses, regulatory challenges and other risks that we may not be able to anticipate. We may not be able to predict whether consumer demand for such initiatives will exist or be sustained at the levels that we anticipate, or whether any of these initiatives will generate sufficient revenue to offset any expenses or liabilities associated with these investments. We may not be able to identify desirable opportunities or be successful in entering into an agreement with any particular counterparty or obtain the expected benefits of any opportunity or investment. Even if we are successful, regulatory authorities may subject us to new rules or restrictions that may increase our expenses or prevent us from successfully commercializing new products, services, offerings or technologies. Such transactions and acquisitions could result in dilutive issuances of equity securities, the use of our available cash, or the issuance of debt, which could harm our operating results. These risks may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Any material disruption in our information systems could adversely affect our business.
Our systems, or those of third-parties upon which we rely, may experience service interruptions, outages, or degradation because of hardware and software defects or malfunctions, human error or intentional bad acts by third parties or our employees, contractors, or service providers, natural disasters, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, fraud, military or political conflicts, terrorist attacks, cyberattacks or other events. Our insurance may not be sufficient, and we may not have sufficient remedies available to us from our third-party service providers, to cover all of our losses that may result from such issues which may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we or our third-party service providers experience a security breach, or if unauthorized parties otherwise obtain access to our customers’ data, our reputation may be harmed, demand for services may be reduced, and we may incur significant liabilities.
We rely on information technology networks and systems to operate and manage our business and store our confidential and proprietary information. The services of our Blade subsidiary involve, and our planned air taxi services will also involve the storage, processing and transmission of our customers’ data, including personal and financial information. We engage third-party service providers to store and process this data. While we believe we and our service providers take reasonable steps to secure these networks and systems, our information technology infrastructure may be vulnerable to computer viruses or physical or electronic intrusions that our security measures may not detect. Any such security incident, including those resulting from cybersecurity attacks, phishing attacks, unauthorized access or usage, virus or similar breach or disruption could result in the loss, destruction, alteration or disclosure of this data, which could damage our reputation and lead to litigation, regulatory investigations, or other liabilities. These attacks may come from individual hackers, corporations, criminal groups, and state-sponsored organizations. Even the perception of inadequate security may damage our reputation and negatively impact our ability to win new customers and retain existing customers. Further, we could be required to expend significant capital and other resources to address any data security incident or breach, which may not be fully covered by our insurance or at all, and which may involve payments for investigations, forensic analyses, legal advice, public relations advice, system repair or replacement, or other services. Any actual or alleged security breaches or alleged violations of federal, state, or foreign laws or regulations relating to privacy and data security could result in mandated user notifications, litigation, government investigations, significant fines, and expenditures; divert management’s attention from operations; deter customers from using our services; damage our brand and reputation; force us to cease
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operations for some length of time; and materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Techniques used to sabotage or obtain unauthorized access to systems or networks are constantly evolving and, in some instances, are not identified until after they have been launched against a target. We and our service providers may be unable to anticipate these techniques, react in a timely manner, or implement adequate preventative and mitigating measures. If we are unable to efficiently and effectively maintain and upgrade our system safeguards, we may incur unexpected costs and certain of our systems may become more vulnerable to unauthorized access or disruption.
Our intended initial operations are concentrated in a small number of metropolitan areas and airports which makes our business particularly susceptible to natural disasters, outbreaks and pandemics, growth constraints, economic, social, weather, and regulatory conditions or other circumstances affecting these metropolitan areas.
We intend to initially service larger metropolitan areas that will be the source of the majority of our revenue. As a result, our business and financial results are particularly susceptible to natural disasters, outbreaks and pandemics, growth constraints, economic, social, weather, and regulatory conditions or other circumstances applicable to these metropolitan areas. Because we will initially have a limited number of locations, a significant interruption or disruption in service at an individual vertiport or metropolitan area where we have a significant volume of flights could have a severe impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our concentration in large metropolitan areas and heavily trafficked airports also makes our business susceptible to an outbreak of a contagious disease, both due to the high volume of travelers flying into and out of such airports and the ease at which contagious diseases can spread through densely populated areas.
Disruption of operations at vertiports, whether caused by labor relations, utility or communications issues, power outages, or changes in federal, state and local regulatory requirements could harm our business. Certain airports may regulate our flight operations, including limiting the number of landings, banning our operations or introducing new permitting requirements, which could significantly disrupt our operations. In addition, demand for our services could be impacted if drop-offs or pick-ups of passengers become inconvenient because of airport rules or regulations, or more expensive because of airport-imposed fees, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
We currently have subsidiaries located outside of the United States and plans for international operations in the future, which could subject us to political, operational and regulatory challenges.
While our primary operations are in the United States, we have established relationships with subsidiaries, suppliers and potential partners in select international markets. In addition, we currently have subsidiaries engaged in limited test manufacturing, R&D and other activities in foreign countries. We have also begun working with regulators in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the UAE to pursue commercialization opportunities in those markets and have signed contracts with potential partners in each of these markets under which we make various commitments related to early operations. While foreign certification in many countries leverages our work with the FAA and in some cases, such as the UAE, may also provide a path to commercial operations prior to receiving certification in the United States, applicable regulations outside the U.S. may differ from or be more stringent than analogous U.S. regulations. International operations are subject to a number of additional risks, including local political or economic instability, cross-border political tensions, global tariffs, challenges in effectively managing employees in foreign jurisdictions, including local labor laws that may be stricter or more costly to comply with than in the U.S., and exposure to potential liabilities under anti-corruption or anti-bribery laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act and similar laws and regulations. If any of these risks materialize it could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to risks arising from natural disasters and severe weather conditions and risks associated with climate change, including the potential increased impacts of severe weather events on our operations and infrastructure.
Natural disasters, including wildfires, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods and earthquakes, and severe weather conditions, may damage our manufacturing plants, facilities or aircraft or disrupt our operating routes. Our Santa Cruz testing facilities, in particular, are located in an area that is at high risk due to wildfire. These facilities are also subject to a risk of closure due to zoning and permitting issues. Destruction or our inability to use any of our facilities for a prolonged period of time could materially impact our ability to meet our projected timelines.
The potential effects of climate change, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods, fires, sea-level rise and other climate-related events, could affect our operations, infrastructure and financial results. We could incur significant costs to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and otherwise prepare for, respond to, and mitigate such effects. We cannot accurately predict the materiality of any potential losses or costs associated with the effects of climate change.
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We are subject to many hazards and operational risks that can disrupt our business, including interruptions or disruptions in service at our facilities, for which we may not be able to secure adequate insurance policies, or secure insurance policies at reasonable prices.
Our operations are subject to many hazards and operational risks, including general business risks, product liability, and damages to third parties, our infrastructure or properties that may be caused by natural disasters, power losses, telecommunications failures, terrorist attacks (including hijacking, use of the aircraft as a weapon, or use of the aircraft to disperse a chemical or biological agent), security related incidents or human errors. Additionally, our manufacturing operations are hazardous at times and may expose us to safety risks, including environmental risks and health and safety hazards to our employees or third parties. Furthermore, there is an increasing focus on environmental disclosure and regulation at the local, state and international levels. Additional laws in these areas, if enacted, could be difficult or costly to comply with.
We maintain general liability insurance, aviation flight testing insurance, aircraft liability coverage, directors and officers (“D&O”) insurance, and other insurance policies, and in some cases, we self-insure where we believe it is appropriate to do so. We believe our level of coverage is customary in the industry and adequate to protect against claims. However, there can be no assurance that our insurance will be sufficient to cover all potential claims or that present levels of coverage will be available in the future at reasonable cost or at all. Further, we expect our insurance needs and costs to increase as we build production facilities, manufacture aircraft, establish commercial operations, add routes, increase flight and passenger volumes and expand into new markets. It is too early to determine what impact, if any, the commercial operation of eVTOLs will have on our insurance costs which may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and result of operations.
We are dependent on our senior management team and other highly skilled personnel, including pilots and mechanics, and we may not be successful in attracting or retaining these personnel.
Our success depends, in significant part, on the continued services of our senior management team and on our ability to attract, motivate, develop and retain a sufficient number of other highly skilled personnel. While our efforts to hire key personnel have generally been successful overall, the markets in which we operate are generally characterized by high levels of competition for skilled employees. We have in the past, and may in the future, experience delays in filling certain positions. For example, our Chief Financial Officer resigned in December 2024, for personal reasons. Our current Chief Financial Officer joined in May 2025. During the interim period, the duties of the Chief Financial Officer were carried out by other individuals within the management team.
In addition, there is a shortage of pilots that is expected to exacerbate over time as more pilots in the industry approach mandatory retirement age. Trained and qualified aircraft mechanics are also in short supply. Our service is dependent on recruiting and retaining qualified pilots and mechanics, either or both of which may be difficult due to the corresponding personnel shortages. We compete against airlines and other air mobility and transportation services for pilots and other skilled labor, some of which will offer wages or benefit packages exceeding ours.
The loss of members of our senior management team or other highly skilled personnel, or our inability to hire, train, and retain qualified pilots and mechanics could harm our business and prevent us from implementing our growth plans.
Our business may be adversely affected by union activities.
Although none of our employees are currently represented by a labor union, it is common throughout the aerospace and airline industries for employees to belong to a union, which can result in higher employee costs and an increased risk of work stoppages. As we expand our business our employees could join or form a labor union and we could be required to become a union signatory. We are also directly or indirectly dependent upon companies with unionized work forces, such as parts suppliers, and work stoppages or strikes organized by such unions could delay the manufacture of our aircraft or disrupt our operations, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or operating results.
Additional Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
The price of our common stock has been and may continue to be volatile.
The price of our common stock has been volatile and will likely continue to fluctuate due to a variety of factors. The stock market in general, and the market for pre-revenue technology companies in particular, has had and may continue to have significant price and volume fluctuations. The market for our common stock may continue to be influenced by events or occurrences including: changes to the regulations that impact our business or adverse decisions by regulators; our ability to develop the market we expect for UAM services, whether due to competition, market acceptance, performance, pricing or other factors; manufacturing and operational challenges; our failure to meet financial projections or manage our cash;
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actions by shareholders, including the sale of a large volume of shares or campaigns by activist investors or short-sellers; actions taken by our competitors; and public perception of our business and our industry as a whole.
These factors, along with the occurrence of any of the risk factors described in this Annual Report, many of which are not within our control, could cause the price of our common stock to decline materially, regardless of our operating performance.
We do not intend to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future.
We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to finance the further development and expansion of our business and do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future decision to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, restrictions contained in future agreements and financing instruments, business prospects and such other factors.
If analysts do not publish research about our business or if they publish inaccurate or unfavorable research, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us, our business, our market and our competitors. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our common stock, provide more favorable recommendations about our competitors or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our common stock would likely decline. If few analysts cover us, or if analysts who cover us cease coverage or fail to publish regular reports, demand for our common stock could decrease and our common stock price and trading volume may decline.
We may be subject to securities litigation, activist investors and short-selling campaigns, which are expensive and could divert management attention.
The market price of our common stock has been and may continue to be volatile. Companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have, in the past, been subject to securities class action litigation, activist investor campaigns and short-selling. We may be the target of these types of activities in the future, any for which could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.
Future resales of common stock may cause the market price of our securities to drop significantly.
Certain Joby stockholders are contractually restricted from selling or transferring shares of common stock (the “Lock-up Shares”) for an agreed-upon period of time. For example, certain significant stockholders have agreed to a five-year lockup, with 20% of the Lock-up Shares being released on each anniversary of the closing of the Merger, subject to provisions that allow for a complete release of the Lock-Up Shares if the Company undergoes a change of control (the “Major Company Equityholders Lock-Up Agreement”). Under the Sponsor Agreement (the “Sponsor Agreement”), by and among the Company, Reinvent Sponsor, LLC (“Sponsor”) and RTP, the Sponsor’s Lock-up Shares are subject to the same releases agreed to in the Major Company Equityholders’ Lock-Up Agreement in addition to vesting conditions. Following the expiration of each lockup tranche, the applicable stockholders will no longer be restricted from selling shares of our common stock held by them, other than by applicable securities laws. As such, sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell their shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock. As of February 15, 2026, there were approximately 75,945,303 shares subject to the Major Company Equityholders Lock-Up Agreement. As restrictions on resale end, the sale or possibility of sale of these shares could have the effect of increasing the volatility in our share price or the market price of our common stock could decline if the holders of currently restricted shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.
Our Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, and policies and procedures are designed to ensure compliance with applicable aviation regulations.
Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that we will ensure we are in compliance with applicable provisions of law and regulations relating to ownership and control of a United States air carrier, including Title 49, United States Code, Section 40102 and interpretations and guidance thereof issued by the United States Department of Transportation or its successor, or as the same may be from time to time amended. Current restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership of United States air transportation operations require that no more than 25% of an air carrier's voting stock be voted, directly or indirectly, by persons who are not U.S. citizens. Our Bylaws contain provisions to ensure United States ownership interest in, and actual control of, the air carrier, free from non-citizen ownership, control, and influence. Pursuant to such provisions, we or a designated transfer agent shall maintain a Foreign Stock Record for registered common stock known to us to be owned and/or controlled by non-U.S. citizens, we will not operate under a Federal Aviation Administration Part 135 air carrier or operating certificate unless in compliance with applicable requirements for such certificate and we will
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implement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with these requirements. If we fail to ensure such compliance or do not implement adequate policies and procedures related to voting rights of persons who are not U.S. citizens, we will be unable to operate in the United States as a United States air carrier. Once our aircraft is certified, the inability to operate as a United States air carrier could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, our results of operations could be harmed.
Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), absent an applicable exemption, a company generally will be deemed to be an “investment company” if (a) it is in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding, or trading in securities and (b) it owns or proposes to acquire “investment securities” having a value exceeding 40% of its total assets (other than U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis (such second prong, the “40% Test”). We do not believe that we or any of our subsidiaries are an “investment company” for purposes of the Investment Company Act, including in part, because neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding, or trading in securities, as required under Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the Investment Company Act, and because we qualify for the safe harbor from “investment company” status provided in Rule 3a-8 under the Investment Company Act.
We are engaged primarily in developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi, and our historical development, public representations of policy, the activity of our officers and directors, the nature of our present assets, the sources of our present income, and the public perception of the nature of our business all support the conclusion that we are an operating company and not an investment company. Further, we and certain of our subsidiaries qualify for the nonexclusive safe harbor from the definition of “investment company” provided in Rule 3a-8 under the Investment Company Act, which applies to certain research and development companies. We currently conduct, and intend to continue to conduct, our operations so that neither we, nor any of our subsidiaries, is required to register as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act. If we were obligated to register as an “investment company,” we would have to comply with a variety of substantive requirements under the Investment Company Act that impose, among other things, limitations on capital structure, restrictions on specified investments, prohibitions on transactions with affiliates, and compliance with reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy disclosure and other rules and regulations that would increase our operating and compliance costs, could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated, and could have a material adverse effect on our business.
