Flying cars are still waiting on regulators, but the real-estate scramble for where they will land is already underway. Joby Aviation and Travis Kalanick’s Atoms announced Tuesday that they will team up to acquire and develop a U.S. network of vertiports, with California among four initial target markets.
At first glance, this is less a flying-car launch than a land grab for the infrastructure beneath it. The companies say their sites will combine electric-aircraft landing and charging facilities with autonomous ground vehicles and rideshare connections, creating multimodal hubs rather than glorified helipads, according to Business Wire.
Why The Landing Sites Matter
The initial push covers Florida, New York, Texas and California. Florida, New York and New Jersey, and Texas are especially tied to the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, an eight-project effort spanning 26 states that is intended to test passenger, cargo, medical and autonomous operations, the U.S. Department of Transportation said.
Joby has said it was selected for pilot-program work that could support early operations this year in 10 states, including Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Utah. The company says flights would move forward after operating agreements are finalized, with operations expected within 90 days of those contracts, according to Joby Aviation.
That timing explains why the partnership is arriving before a commercial passenger-service announcement. Joby says its aircraft is approaching commercial readiness and has entered the final stage of FAA type certification, while the Atoms deal is aimed at the less glamorous bottleneck: finding sites with power, passenger circulation, servicing and last-mile connections, the companies said in their partnership announcement.
California Is Already In The Mix
For California, the announcement gives the Santa Cruz-based manufacturer another piece of the in-state buildout it has been assembling around its Marina production base. Joby’s expanded Marina facility was designed to double production capacity at that location, according to the company’s report on its Marina expansion.
California is not starting from zero on vertiport planning. In April, Hoodline reported on a planned Century City air taxi hub at Park Elm Residences, an example of the private real-estate sites that could eventually become part of a broader network.
Still, a rendering is not a route map. Bisnow reported that Joby and other air-taxi companies still need FAA approval, with certifications not anticipated until 2027 at the earliest; Tuesday’s announcement named target states but no specific California parcels, construction schedule or passenger launch date.
