In Mexico, Tesla Inc. co-founder Elon Musk and other tequila producers are arguing whether the alcoholic drink, branded Teslaquila, should have an established trademark. The creators of the Tesla innovator are trying their best for their drink to get the trademark despite opposition of other Mexican tequila producers.
According to Tesla’s chief executive, Musk offers a variety of products ranging from auto-electrification to rocket-building to high transit tunnels. The debut of Teslaquila in Mexico will be Musk’s first foray in the tequila industry. The company currently has its sights set on slipping into the liquor industry.
On October 12, the company released a preview of the drink. The preview includes a white and red label accompanied by the Tesla logo, and it had a tagline of “100 percent Puro de Agave.” The drink is fully Tesla branded and claims to live up to production standards in order to call itself tequila. It claims to be 100 percent pure agave, the key ingredient to the Mexican liquor.
The same day as the release of the sneak peek, the company also tweeted “Teslaquila coming soon.”
However, these promotions action garnered different reactions down South. According to Mexico’s Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), ‘tequila’ is a ‘protected word,’ so it should not have been evoked by Musk and Tesla. The Council argues that the name Teslaquila infringes on the protected word status.
Tesla already applied for a trademark for Teslaquila; they stated that the brand is for “distilled agave liquor” and “distilled blue agave liquor.” The company also applied for trademarks in the US, European Union, and Jamaica.
The CRT stated that an authorized tequila producer must control the production of Teslaquila for it to be deemed a reliable tequila brand. It should also follow the rules and regulations implemented by Mexico’s Industrial Property Institute.
Moreover, if the drink is not tequila, it might confuse the clients thinking that it is tequila, not another agave-based drink.
Tesla has not addressed the controversy.
Recently, many deals are being closed in the tequila industry as the agave-liquor gains traction as a favorite drink today.
