Joby Aviation Stock Falls as LA Air Taxi Vertiport Plan Meets Certification Reality

23 April 2026

Los Angeles, April 23, 2026, 13:21 PDT

Joby Aviation Inc. and Reuben Brothers announced Thursday that they’re aiming to convert the existing helipad on top of Park Elm Residences at Century Plaza in Los Angeles into a vertiport for Joby’s electric air taxis—a tangible step forward in the company’s Los Angeles rollout. The vertiport would serve as a hub for eVTOL aircraft, or electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles, handling takeoffs, landings, and charging.

Timing is a factor here: Joby isn’t just under pressure to show progress on aircraft tests. Investors want to see updates on cash, certification, and production while the company pushes toward launching commercial service. On Wednesday, Joby scheduled its first-quarter results for May 5 along with a webcast at 5 p.m. ET.

Washington has bumped up the timetable. Back in March, the FAA and DOT picked eight eVTOL pilot projects spanning 26 states, aiming for public flights by summer 2026. Joby landed spots on several lists—often appearing with Archer Aviation, BETA Technologies, and Electra. The competition is breaking out of presentations and moving into the sky, and into the nuts and bolts of infrastructure.

The Century Plaza proposal puts the tower’s helipad at the center, managing both aircraft operations and charging. Joby is set to develop the vertiport and passenger lounge, also taking charge of flight logistics and the passenger side of things. As for Reuben Brothers, they plan to integrate the air taxi service into the building’s resident perks.

Jordana Yechiel, director of residential design at Reuben Brothers, described the service as “a truly unique amenity.” For Joby’s Blade Air Mobility, CEO Rob Wiesenthal sees the Century City location as a potential “anchor” for a wider Los Angeles vertiport network, beginning with airport runs. PR Newswire

The company says locals could soon book on-demand flights around greater Los Angeles. Their selling point is simple: trips that drag past two hours by car might drop to just five minutes in the air. The proposed service still faces a stack of regulatory hurdles—local, state, and federal—before any takeoff.

The mood from investors wasn’t so warm. Joby slid 7.1% to finish at $8.49, with Archer off 4.8% and Vertical Aerospace tumbling 8.4%. This wasn’t just about the Century Plaza announcement—listed air-taxi stocks broadly had a tough session.

Joby’s aircraft sports six rotors, seating for a pilot plus four passengers. Just last month, Reuters noted Joby was already flying its first production-model aircraft as part of the FAA’s type inspection authorization process—a big certification hurdle. The company, according to that report, is aiming to launch limited U.S. operations this year, with eyes on Dubai as well.

Yet the risks are hard to ignore. In its most recent filing, Joby flagged a long list of uncertainties: launch dates, scaling up production, regulatory hurdles, supplier issues, funding needs, and rivals in the space—all could throw off management’s forecasts. Century Plaza? Just one possible hub, not a guarantee.

The coming weeks are crucial. Investors aren’t just listening for rooftop announcements—they’re watching to see if Joby can deliver on certification, rein in costs, and turn premium landing sites into something customers will actually pay for.

Khadija Saeed Latest posts

Khadija Saeed is a financial markets reporter at TS2.tech. Her coverage ranges from stocks and technology to emerging industries and developments across global markets. She studied economics and finance at the London School of Economics and worked in market research before becoming a financial journalist. Follow Khadija Saeed on Google News.

View all