Archer countersues Joby over alleged concealed Chinese connections in air taxi dispute

Electric air taxi developer Archer Aviation responded on Monday to a lawsuit with counterclaims of its own, alleging that rival Joby Aviation defrauded the U.S. government and its competitors by falsely portraying itself as an American-made company.

The counterclaim, filed in federal court, alleges that Joby used a Chinese manufacturing subsidiary to obtain critical components from Chinese suppliers with the backing of the Chinese government. Archer also claims that Joby attempted to hide its “deep ties” to China by fraudulently misclassifying thousands of pounds of Chinese-origin aircraft materials as consumer goods — describing them as hair clips, socks, and photo albums — to avoid U.S. tariffs and scrutiny related to foreign influence.

Joby was founded in 2009 in Santa Cruz, California, where it continues to maintain its corporate headquarters. According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company also has facilities in several other U.S. cities. It operates internationally in Germany, Austria, Costa Rica, and Shenzhen, China.

Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Joby, said in an emailed statement that the company “doesn’t respond to nonsense.”

“Archer’s constant legal issues and flailing business operations have left it no choice but to resort to invented nonsensical theories,” Spiro said. “We will see them in court.”

The countersuit arrives four months after Joby filed its own lawsuit against Archer over accusations of trade secret theft. In that earlier case, filed in November in the Superior Court of California in Santa Cruz County, Joby alleges that former employee George Kivork took trade secrets with him when he left the company to join Archer, and that Archer then used them.

Both Joby and Archer, which are based in San Jose, California, entered the public markets in 2021 through mergers with special purpose acquisition companies. The two companies are pursuing similar, often overlapping markets. Both are developing electric air taxis and working on defence-related applications for their technology.

The timing of Archer’s countersuit stands out, especially because of the language in the complaint that references a recent executive order from President Trump. That order directed the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to launch a pilot program to accelerate the development and commercialisation of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Both companies recently applied to that initiative, formerly known as the Advanced Air Mobility and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program.

“Wrapping itself in the American flag and marketing its aircraft as ‘Committed to American Innovation,’ Joby has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from the United States government, including U.S. Air Force contracts, and has positioned itself to be a key player in President Trump’s effort to accelerate the integration of air taxis in the United States under his 2025 ‘Unleashing American Drone Dominance’ Executive Order,” the complaint alleges.

On Monday, the DOT and FAA approved eight proposals under the pilot program across 26 states. Archer was approved to take part in three of them, while Joby secured approval for five.