In a March 9 filing in federal court in California, Archer accused Joby of running a manufacturing unit in Shenzhen, China, for more than a decade that received government grants intended to spur technological development and of carrying out fraudulent business practices that gave it an improper competitive edge.

"Joby has falsely presented itself as a domestically rooted, American-made, fully vertically integrated aviation company while covertly relying on its Chinese manufacturing subsidiary," Archer alleged in the filing.

The lawsuit alleges that the company later hid aerospace components shipped from that facility by falsely labeling thousands of pounds of imported components as mundane consumer goods such as hair clips, napkins, socks, and similar products.

This approach, the suit alleges, allowed Joby to "evade U.S. tariffs, distort competition, improperly secure government contracts and strategic partnerships, and circumvent national-security oversight."

Archer's counterclaim, filed in a lawsuit initiated by Joby, further argues that Joby secured at least $131 million in U.S. Air Force contracts while marketing its aircraft as committed to American innovation, raising national security concerns in areas in which Chinese supply chain dependencies were not fully disclosed.

Alex Spiro, an attorney for Joby, said in a statement to The Epoch Times 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 in a statement. "We will see them in court."

The latest legal development is part of a counterclaim to Joby's November 2025 lawsuit against Archer.

Joby accused its competitor of using stolen information from a former employee to secure a partnership deal with a real estate development company.

The air taxi maker called it "corporate espionage, planned, and premeditated."

This is not the first time that Archer has been involved in a legal dispute.