Air taxi rivals fight in court as launch delays weigh on sector

Several prominent electric air taxi companies are fighting in court while the industry is still trying to prove it can move from testing to commercial service. The disputes matter because Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation and Vertical Aerospace are among the companies trying to sell eVTOL aircraft as a new way to move passengers across cities, according to The Verge.

The legal fight between Joby and Archer began last year, The Verge reported, citing litigation between the two U.S. air taxi companies. Joby accused Archer of corporate espionage, while Archer alleged that Joby had hidden connections to China, according to The Verge and the Los Angeles Times report it cited.

Archer also opened a separate case against Vertical Aerospace in February, according to The Verge. In that lawsuit, Archer accused Vertical of infringing patents and claimed Vertical copied the design of Archer’s Midnight aircraft for Vertical’s Valo aircraft, The Verge reported.

A repeat of earlier legal trouble

The new cases follow an earlier dispute involving Archer and Wisk Aero, an air taxi company backed by Boeing, according to The Verge. Archer had been accused in that case of stealing trade secrets, and the companies were said to have settled the matter less than two years before the current round of lawsuits, The Verge reported.

That Wisk dispute did not fully disappear after settlement, according to The Verge. Wisk later asked a court to help enforce the settlement terms, which led to the case being reopened, The Verge reported.

The Verge described the timing as a difficult one for the air taxi business. Companies in the field have been pitching electric aircraft as a form of urban transportation that could carry passengers across cities without the noise and carbon pollution associated with conventional helicopters, according to The Verge.

Promises meet delays

The industry’s commercial plans have already faced pressure, The Verge reported. Air taxi stocks have fallen sharply over the past several years, according to The Verge, as certification deadlines have continued to move later.

Certification is a key hurdle because air taxi companies need regulatory approval before they can carry passengers at scale, according to The Verge’s account of the sector’s delays. The Verge reported that those slipping timelines have added to the uncertainty around companies that have spent years promoting electric air taxis as part of future city travel.

The lawsuits add another problem for a field that is still seeking public trust, investor support and regulatory clearance, according to The Verge. For now, some of the best-known companies in the sector are spending part of that race in court.

This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.