What's happening in the air taxi sector?
Does the channel team detect movement in deep waters?
Do the sharks smell blood?
Pay attention to the following exclusive analysis
May 22 - remember the date
Last week on May 22, Colper Research announced entering a short position in Archer stock $ACHR
The reason?
Very serious accusations of fraud and inaccuracy in updates on the status of their innovative flying vehicle
The full details
On April 10, 2025, SFD visited Archer's hangar and published photos showing the "Midnight" aircraft in a non-operational state, contradicting the company's claims that it was on track for piloted flights.
Despite Archer's statement during its Q1 2025 conference call that piloted flights would begin within days, investigators found that only one round of low-speed ground runs had been conducted in the past week.
Archer CEO Adam Goldstein's claim that he was invited to appear on Jimmy Fallon's late-night show following the company's Olympics sponsorship announcement is also under scrutiny.
Colper Research implies that Archer paid millions for the airtime and for Fallon's appearance at an Archer promotional event in New York.
Goldstein also claimed that the company's sponsorship of the 2028 Olympics indicates the FAA's confidence in Archer.
However, Colper Research believes Archer paid between $25 million and $30 million for the Olympic rights, hinting at a focus on publicity rather than aircraft safety and efficiency.
The report further claims that Archer faked a milestone to unlock additional funding from Stellantis.
Archer announced in June 2024 that the "Midnight" aircraft completed a full transition flight.
However, the company provided no video evidence of the aircraft flying with its rear rotor propellers covered as required by FAA regulations.
Colper also briefly summarizes additional issues
1. Archer's claim that the "Midnight" design was mature and required no changes is also in doubt.
The company's Q1 2025 earnings results reveal a completely different aircraft, indicating significant changes were made.
Archer's claims of flight instrument adaptation and its lowering are seen as a cover for a comprehensive change.
In November 2024, Archer announced a deal to sell up to 100 aircraft to a joint venture from Japan Airlines and planned a flight demonstration at the 2025 Japan World Expo.
However, Archer reportedly canceled the demonstration, citing scheduling issues, information that was not conveyed to investors.
2. Colper Research also highlighted Archer's slow progress in FAA certification:
The company's 10-K form filed in February 2025 warned for the first time that Archer might never receive FAA certification at all.
The short sellers are not content with just entering a bearish position but also propose a "bet" with Archer, offering Archer to conduct an FAA-compliant commercial flight by July 30.
If they fail, all profits from the bet are guaranteed to four major charities.
But wait, that's not all
Archer has a large and well-known competitor
Joby $JOBY
And on May 22 - the very same day the short report is published - someone buys $250 million worth of Joby shares!
It's Toyota, which "coincidentally" increases its position in Joby by almost 70% on the same day one of the sharpest short reports I've ever read about the competing company is published...
Certainly an interesting story...
We will continue to follow