Al Root

Joby stock jumped Friday after the company announced it would participate in the White House's program to help develop flying vehicles.

A June executive order from President Donald Trump created a testing program for eVTOLs -- short for electric vertical takeoff and landing. These are essentially helicopter-like vehicles designed to be used in more densely populated urban environments. The technology can enable air taxi services, which sometimes create visions of flying cars taking passengers above road traffic on short-haul flights.

Trump's "eVTOL Integration Pilot Program" aims to help speed up the adoption of eVTOL technology, which is good for Joby and other eVTOL makers. It allows mature eVTOL programs to begin operations in select markets, before full certification of the aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Joby calls the program "a critical step in preparing for scaled commercial service."

Joby shares were up 4.3% in early trading on Friday, while the S&P 500 was flat and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 0.2%. Shares of eVTOL maker Archer Aviation were up 1.4%.

"President Trump has long recognized the significance of America's leadership in the next era of aviation, and this initiative ensures our nation's leadership will continue," said Greg Bowles, Chief Policy Officer at Joby, in a news release.

Neither Joby nor Archer generates significant revenue yet. Both are working on commercializing their aircraft, and both plan to launch commercial service in overseas markets this year and U.S. service in 2026. Wall Street sees both companies generating $1 billion in annual sales by 2028 or 2029.

Joby stock has had a volatile year. Coming to Friday trading, shares were up almost 160% over the past 12 months. Shares have traded as low as $4.78 and as high as $20.95. They traded as high as $15.23 on Friday.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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September 12, 2025 12:09 ET (16:09 GMT)

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