Elon Musk Will Fight Back Tequila Industry to Win 'Teslaquila' Name

Elon Musk has vowed to fight for the naming rights to his new tequila product. If you remember back to April, the Tesla CEO tweeted an image of himself to welcome in the new month with a caption “Elon was found passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by "Teslaquilla" bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks.”

Elon was found passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by "Teslaquilla" bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks.

This is not a forward-looking statement, because, obviously, what's the point?

Happy New Month! pic.twitter.com/YcouvFz6Y1

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2018

While at the time "Teslaquilla" was just a cute joke, Musk being Musk has made it a reality - well almost. A ‘visual approximation’ of the Teslaquila bottle surfaced on Twitter in early October but it seems the product might be scuppered before it gets off the ground if the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), has anything to do with it.

Visual approximation pic.twitter.com/sMn3Pv476Y

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 12, 2018

Tequila Regulatory Council outraged by patent application

The Mexican-based CRT states that ‘tequila’ is a protected word and Teslaquila is too evocative of the original word to get approval. According to the US Patent and Trademark Office website, Tesla has filed an application to trademark “Teslaquila” as a “distilled agave liquor” and “distilled blue agave liquor”.

Similar applications have also been filed in the European Union. “If it wants to make Teslaquila viable as a tequila it would have to associate itself with an authorized tequila producer, comply with certain standards and request authorization from Mexico’s Industrial Property Institute,” said the CRT in a statement.

Musk vows to fight big tequila

“Otherwise it would be making unauthorized use of the denomination of origin for tequila,” it said, adding that the proposed name “Teslaquila” could make consumers confuse the drink with tequila. The tempestuous entrepreneur has immediately hit back at the claims by the CRT tweeting, “We will fight Big Tequila!”

We will fight Big Tequila!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2018

How and what this fight will look like is unclear. However, it's a safe bet, the multi-billionaire has some cash to spend on pet projects.

Boring Company merch indicates a strong market for Musk's gadgets

It isn’t the first time Musk has marketed novelty products. His Boring Company Flamethrowers were sold as ‘not-flamethrowers’, why not ‘not-Teslaquila’? The exact reasons for Musk’s passion for the Teslaquila aren’t clear.

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Perhaps he has some extra time on his hand now he has stepped down from the chair of the Tesla board. A move initiated as part of an agreement with the Securities and Investments Commission over a suggestion Tesla was going to go private.

If the spirit project does get off the ground, there is no doubt there will be a pool of Tesla fanatics desperate to scoop up the product. Musks merchandise offers from the Boring Company which included a baseball cap and the aforementioned flamethrower sold out quickly generating millions of dollars in sales.