Electric air taxi firm Joby Aviation eyes White House landing, but has deep ties to anti-Trump billionaire Reid Hoffman
An electric air taxi company with a craft straight out of “The Jetsons” — which it hopes to touch down on the White House lawn later this year — is in the final sprint for certifications to begin flying commercially, The Post has learned.Joby Aviation has scored federal approvals and contracts and hopes to begin taking passengers by early 2026 after scooping up hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from companies including Uber, Toyota and Delta.The sleek, four-passenger flying taxis, also known as eVTOLs, can both take off and land vertically and top out at speeds of 200 miles per hour.Last fall, the Santa Cruz, Calif.-based aerospace company even rolled out a prototype to display in Grand Central Station, claiming that it could have New Yorkers bypass a congested cab or subway ride to JFK Airport from lower Manhattan in fewer than seven minutes.But some Republicans and people close to the Trump administration have said Joby’s financial ties to billionaire Reid Hoffman — who threw his weight behind Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election campaign after backing lawsuits against Trump — are a problem for the firm.One source said Joby “attempting to publicly and privately lobby the White House” was a non-starter given its financial backing by a “Trump-hater who funded the E.
Jean Carroll weaponization lawsuit against President Trump.”Another person close to the president said Joby’s “ties to Reid Hoffman, someone who funded political prosecutions of Donald Trump” were “concerning.”And a Senate Republican aide also claimed that some lawmakers on Capitol Hill were “skeptical of taking meetings” with Joby, “especially given Hoffman’s attacks on Trump and [Elon] Musk.”“The anonymous claims are ill-informed and inaccurate,” a Joby spokesperson told The Post Friday.“Joby is a proudly American company and global leader, employing over 2000 engineers and other experts, across 40 different US states, and ...