Ahead of Tesla’s (TSLA) hyped announcement on Tuesday, retail investors on X were buzzing over rumors that a potential partnership between the EV maker and Archer Aviation (ACHR) would be one of the big reveals.
The rumors, of course, turned out not to be true. Tesla instead introduced more affordable “Standard” versions of its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles – which itself had long been rumored to eventually be on the horizon.
It’s difficult to pinpoint where the rumors of a potential partnership between Tesla and Archer started, but a number of investors on X were pointing to a post Tesla made on Sunday featuring a short video of a spinning wheel with the company logo on it that some people thought could be the rotor of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
“IS $TSLA ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE SOMETHING BIG WITH $ACHR TUESDAY?” Shay Boloor, host of Stocktwits, said on X after Tesla posted the video
“Tesla teased a propeller-drone video for an Oct 7 reveal & a tie-up makes sense as Tesla expands real-world AI into air mobility while Archer brings certified eVTOL aircraft & FAA momentum,” he added.
Archer’s stock surged as much as 18% on Monday as the rumors began swirling on X.
Angry investors call out ‘misleading’ promotion
When Tesla’s announcement turned out to only be centered around its lower-priced vehicles, some disappointed people began blaming Archer and its executives for “misleading” shareholders about a potential partnership.
Anger was especially directed at a promotional video from Archer released on social media last week showing not only its logo on the dashboard of a Tesla, but which also included a shot of Optimus, Tesla’s in-development robot.
The video was compared on Reddit to the mysterious “abstract pictures” that Keith Gill (aka Roaring Kitty) would post during the infamous GameStop (GME) meme-stock rally in order to get investors excited.
Except, as one annoyed Reddit user noted, all the Tesla-related content from Archer “originate from Archer’s official marketing team directly” and was “hyped from official Archer channels.”
That Tesla-related content included Nikhil Goel, chief commercial officer of Archer, reposting a tweet this week that Elon Musk made about Archer in 2023, further fueling speculation that the two companies were linking up.
Archer’s stock fell 8.5% on Tuesday following Tesla’s announcement – and then dropped another 9.3% in midmorning trading on Wednesday.
Interestingly enough, the hype around Tesla potentially entering the eVOTL market, also swept up Archer rival Joby Aviation (JOBY), whose stock gained 7% on Monday, but then fell 3.4% on Tuesday and 10.5% in midmorning trading on Wednesday.
And Tesla’s stock rose 5.1% before the announcement, and then dropped 4.4% on Tuesday following the reveal. This could be partly due to investor disappointment that the company is not in fact launching its own eVOTL – but also because many people don’t view Tesla’s new “affordable” cars as being that affordable.
Archer did gain back some of its losses on Wednesday after it announced that it is partnering with the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi on the establishment of the first hospital-based vertiport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The hospital will be utilizing Midnight, Archer’s planned eVTOL, for both non-emergency passenger travel and time-critical organ transport services.
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