Most Read: Flying Taxi Company Raises $400M, Musk Claims X Hit By Cyberattack During Trump Interview

Here are this week’s most-read stories in IoT World Today:

Air Taxi Company Gets $400M More Backing From Stellantis

Flying taxi company Archer Aviation has received a commitment of up to $400 million from Stellantis to help cover costs relating to scaling the manufacturing of 650 electric aerial vehicles (EAV) annually.

Archer also secured $230 million in additional capital equity from investors including Stellantis and United Airlines.

In addition to the financing, Archer announced it is planning a Los Angeles air taxi network with takeoff and landing facilities at Los Angeles International Airport, USC, Orange County, Santa Monica, Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach and Van Nuys. 

The network is scheduled to start in 2026.

Learn more about the planned Los Angeles air taxi network >>>

Musk Claims X Hit by ‘Massive DDoS Attack’ During Trump Interview

Elon Musk has claimed X (Twitter) was hit with a “massive DDoS attack” that caused rampant technical glitches throughout his interview with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Musk was set to interview Trump on X through its Spaces feature but was beset by glitches.

The conversation was scheduled to start at 5 p.m. PT on Aug. 12 but didn’t take place for another 40 minutes. When it did, thousands of users said they were unable to listen to the conversation.

Related:Boeing Carries Out First Quantum Navigation Flight Test

Musk claimed the glitches were the result of a DDoS attack.

Read more about the technical glitches that plagued Musk’s interview with Trump >>>

Air Taxi Company Selling 116 Flying Vehicles for $580M

Air taxi company Archer Aviation is selling 116 of its Midnight electric flying vehicles to Future Flight Global (FFG) in a deal valued at up to $580 million.

The deal brings the total estimated sales of Archer electric vehicles (EAV) to $6 billion, according to the company.

As part of the deal signed under a memorandum of understanding, Future Flight Global (FFG) agreed to a $5 million pre-delivery deposit.

FFG was founded by the leadership team at Titan Aviation, which has been operating business jets under multiple air operator certificates worldwide for two decades.

Find out more about Archer’s plans for air taxi services in Southeast Asia and the Middle East >>>

Shake Shack to Use Self-Driving Robots for Uber Eats Deliveries in LA

Shake Shack customers in Los Angeles could soon be receiving their orders by way of an autonomous delivery robot.

Several sidewalk bots, developed by local company Serve Robotics, will be deployed by select Shake Shack restaurants across the city to fulfill orders placed on the Uber Eats platform.

Related:Japanese Chipmaker Tests Robots to Fully Automate Production

The Nvidia-backed start-up’s bots have been used by Uber Eats for autonomous deliveries since 2022 and the new partnership marks the latest stage in its ambitious plan to have 2,000 in operation on the platform by next year.

The Serve bots are capable of Level 4 autonomy – meaning they can drive themselves with no human input in specific areas – and use a variety of sensors, plus advanced artificial intelligence and GPS tech, to help deliver this functionality.

Find out more about these upright cooler boxes on wheels >>>

Waymo Starts Driverless Rides on San Francisco Freeways

Self-driving taxi company Waymo has begun fully driverless testing on San Francisco freeways.

Its autonomous vehicles (AVs) will take to freeways across the Bay Area with no safety operators on board, with the cabs – initially at least – available only to employees.

Eventually, the service will be opened to members of the public, although no timeline for this has yet been revealed. This incremental approach to expansion has been a feature of Waymo’s rollout across the United States.

The news was announced via a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Aug. 12, which read: “After successful testing of our autonomous vehicles on Phoenix freeways, we’re expanding our operations. Starting today, our employees will also have access to fully autonomous rides on San Francisco freeways.”

Uncover more about the first phase of Waymo’s driverless testing on San Francisco freeways >>>