eVTOL manufacturing in Texas now has a physical address. Joby Aviation leased 45,000 square feet at the Alliance Air Trade Center in Haslet, part of Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, to manufacture and test electric air taxis. The lease is small next to the billion dollar plant announcements dominating 2026. It may also matter more than its square footage suggests.
Key Takeaways
- Joby Aviation leased 45,000 square feet at the Alliance Air Trade Center in Haslet, announced August 6, 2026.
- This is the first significant eVTOL manufacturer presence in Texas.
- No investment figure or job count was disclosed, which makes it a foothold rather than a capacity commitment.
- The site sits inside Hillwood’s 27,000 acre AllianceTexas development, with multimodal transport and a deep aerospace supplier base.
- It will support flights under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program across the Dallas Fort Worth area.
- Joby’s main plant is in Marina, California, over 435,000 square feet and designed for up to 24 aircraft per year.
- Texas is assembling a wider ecosystem, including Boeing’s Wisk Aero near Houston and Austin based LIFT Aircraft.
What Joby Actually Leased
An eVTOL is an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. In plain terms, it is an electric air taxi that lifts off like a helicopter and then cruises like a plane, on batteries instead of jet fuel.
Specifically, Joby announced the Fort Worth hub on August 6, 2026, according to the company’s investor relations announcement. The 45,000 square foot space at the Alliance Air Trade Center will handle manufacturing and testing. Furthermore, the site will support flights under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program across the Dallas Fort Worth area.
What Was Not Disclosed
Notably, Joby released neither an investment figure nor a job count. That omission deserves attention rather than a shrug, because both numbers are standard in facility announcements and their absence usually signals an early stage commitment.
For scale, Joby’s primary manufacturing sits in Marina, California. That site spans more than 435,000 square feet and supports up to 24 aircraft per year. It also operates in Ohio and has said it targets four aircraft per month by 2027. Consequently, 45,000 square feet in Texas reads as testing and support capacity rather than a second main line.
So the honest framing is a foothold. Even so, footholds in AllianceTexas have a track record of growing.
Why Fort Worth Keeps Winning Advanced Manufacturing
Specifically, the site sits inside Hillwood’s 27,000 acre AllianceTexas development. It supplies multimodal transportation infrastructure and a large regional aerospace workforce. Notably, that workforce was built for traditional aerospace and defense work, not for electric aircraft.
Certainly, that transferability is the real story. Fort Worth has spent two years accumulating advanced manufacturing across categories that look unrelated on paper. For example, Wistron opened an AI server smart factory in Fort Worth. It builds Nvidia hardware in the same metro.
In other words, regional manufacturing capability proves more portable than the industries built on top of it. A machinist, a composites technician and an electrical assembler are employable across air taxis and AI servers alike.
eVTOL Manufacturing in Texas Is Becoming a Cluster
Importantly, Joby is not operating alone in the state. Boeing subsidiary Wisk Aero has partnered with Houston Airports and is developing a vertiport at Ellington Airport. Sugar Land is planned as its first base in the Greater Houston network. Meanwhile, Austin based LIFT Aircraft is pursuing its own commercial path.
The state has also organized around the category. The Texas Department of Transportation has partnered with Joby, Wisk, Archer Aviation and Beta Technologies. Those regional routes are intended to connect Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and eventually Houston. In addition, the FAA has cleared eVTOL air taxi operations across 26 states.
| Company | Texas presence | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Joby Aviation | Fort Worth, 45,000 sq ft | Manufacturing and testing |
| Wisk Aero (Boeing) | Greater Houston | Vertiport network, Ellington and Sugar Land |
| LIFT Aircraft | Austin | Commercial development |
| Archer, Beta | TxDOT route partnerships | Regional network planning |
Therefore the meaningful unit of analysis is the cluster, not the lease. A single 45,000 square foot building is unremarkable. Four manufacturers, a state transportation agency and a federal pilot program pointed at the same corridor is a supply chain forming.
What eVTOL Manufacturing in Texas Means for Suppliers
Overall, three implications follow for manufacturers watching the category. First of all, the bill of materials favors existing capability. That means composites, precision machined structures, wiring harnesses, battery enclosures and thermal management. Suppliers already serving aerospace can quote this work without retooling.
Moreover, volumes stay modest for now. Two dozen aircraft per year is a job shop quantity, not an automotive quantity, so the early opportunity is engineering support and low volume precision rather than high volume tooling.
Finally, certification drives everything. Aerospace quality systems and traceability are the entry requirement, which favors suppliers who already hold those approvals. In short, this is an aerospace supply chain in a new application, not a new supply chain.
Track where this capital is landing on our US Manufacturing Investment Tracker. In addition, our manufacturing and industrial news section follows these developments. The full breakdown appears in IndustrialSage Headlines Episode 31.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an eVTOL?
An eVTOL is an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. In practice it is an electric air taxi that lifts off like a helicopter, then flies forward like a plane, running on batteries rather than jet fuel.
What did Joby Aviation lease in Texas?
Joby leased 45,000 square feet at the Alliance Air Trade Center in Haslet, part of Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. The company announced the hub on August 6, 2026 and will use it to manufacture and test aircraft.
How much is Joby investing and how many jobs will it create?
Neither figure was disclosed. That absence is meaningful: it makes the lease a strategic foothold rather than a production commitment on the scale of a semiconductor or pharmaceutical plant.
Is this the first eVTOL manufacturing in Texas?
It is the first significant presence by an eVTOL manufacturer in the state. Other companies are building the surrounding ecosystem, including Boeing subsidiary Wisk Aero around Houston and Austin based LIFT Aircraft.
Where does Joby build most of its aircraft?
Joby’s primary manufacturing is in Marina, California, a site spanning more than 435,000 square feet and designed to support up to 24 aircraft per year. The company also operates a facility in Ohio and targets four aircraft per month by 2027.
What is the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program?
It is a federal program supporting early commercial electric air taxi operations. Joby’s Fort Worth site will support flights under the program across the Dallas Fort Worth area, and the FAA has cleared eVTOL air taxi operations across 26 states.
Why did Joby choose Fort Worth?
The site sits inside Hillwood’s 27,000 acre AllianceTexas development, which offers multimodal transportation infrastructure and a deep regional aerospace workforce and supplier base.
Author: Wes Garrett
Content and Growth Marketing Producer | From Strategy to Execution, Delivering Impactful Media Solutions and Client Success
