Legal battle escalates between Larry Page’s air taxi startup Wisk and rival Archer

A pair of deep-pocketed Silicon Valley aviation startups fired fresh salvos in a bizarre legal dogfight this week, with each escalating accusations that the other has stolen its trade secrets.

On Tuesday, Archer Aviation — whose backers include Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez, United Airlines and Stellantis, the auto giant that owns Fiat-Chrysler and Ferrari — slammed rival Wisk Aero for a “baseless lawsuit” it filed this spring alleging Archer stole its futuristic airplane designs. Archer — which in February announced plans to go public through a $3.8 blank-check deal — said Wisk’s “clear intended purpose [is] to disrupt Archer’s business and impede Archer’s growth as a competitor.”