First of all, Joby already has a factory near Marina Airport in California and 2nd of all I don't think I want to travel in a pilotless or piloted electric Air Taxi for about the same reason that I don't want to ride in a driverless land taxi. Within 24 hours of letting driverless Taxis happen in San Francisco Recently someone was injured when a Fire engine and the taxi collided.
Some of the same problems exist for Electric Air Taxis. It's not that electric motors aren't reliable but all you need is a battery failure of some kind and the motors aren't going to work. Also, Air Taxis often have no pilots and are sort of like driverless Land Taxis. It's true there is more room for passengers when you don't have a pilot but why would you take off in an electric air taxi without a pilot anyway?
You would have to be sort of nuts to ride in a land or air taxi without a driver. At least in an Electric Tesla or other electric car you can be your own pilot(driver). Whenever there is no pilot what happens when something unexpected happens. Flying in a small plane or helicopter is one of the least forgiving things you can do by the way because I have soloed in a Cessna 152 several times and have flown with instructors many many different kinds of high wing and low wing aircraft.
The problem with flying is the unexpected is always happening, for example, cross winds and crazy other pilots etc. So, for example even if the JOBY has an automatic parachute that deploys if engines or batteries fail that doesn't mean that a cross wind or another plane isn't going to ruin your whole day on the way down with that parachute. Flying is really tricky business on many different levels. Ask anyone who has successfully landed a plane or even a helicopter in heavy cross winds and see what they think about electric non-piloted Air Taxis?
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