Joby asks judge to toss allegations of misrepresenting ties to foreign firms

Air taxi developer Joby Aviation has asked a federal judge to dismiss competitor Archer Aviation’s claim that Joby misrepresented its operations and business relationships in China and mislabeled imports on customs forms.

Archer’s claims are “unsupported and legally infirm”, Joby says in a motion to dismiss filed on 6 April with US District Court for the Northern District of California. “Instead of raising a straightforward dispute… Archer’s counterclaim sprawls across 60 pages that are long on innuendo but short on factual allegations”.

Joby and Archer, both California-based developers of electric air taxis, have been battling in court since Joby sued Archer in November 2025, alleging that Archer and one of its employees stole Joby’s trade secrets.

Archer has denied those claims and on 9 March filed a counterclaim alleging fraud and other improprieties on behalf of Joby.

Archer’s counterclaim said Joby “falsely presented itself as a domestically rooted” US company while “covertly relying on” a Chinese subsidiary to source critical components for its in-development air taxi. It accused Joby of having ties to the Chinese communist party and receiving technology development grants from the Chinese government — all while seeking to secure contracts with the US government, including the US Air Force.

Archer also said Joby “misclassified” imported Chinese goods to avoid paying US tariffs.

In asking the court to toss the claim, Joby insists it has always been transparent that its manufacturing activities have been “supported by” Japan-based Toyota, and that its annual filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission note that it sources materials from “from suppliers globally”.

Joby points to US customs forms as evidence that it paid “correctly classified tariffs”.

“A hit piece does not state a legal claim. Absent specific factual allegations… Archer’s counter-complaint should be dismissed,” Joby writes.

Joby and Archer, two of the best-known electric air taxi developers, are battling to develop, certificate and market a new class of aircraft. Such incredibly expensive projects require that start-ups keep investors interested.

Much remains uncertain about the capabilities and certification potential of in-development electric air taxis, and the size of a still-conceptual market.