Elon Musk’s ‘Teslaquila’ Forced Into Name Change As Mexico Wouldn’t Allow It
Image via Tesla
Elon Musk unveiled his Tesla-inspired, ‘Teslaquila’, just recently, in honor of an April’s Fool prank in 2018. However, he could not fully live out the dream as the alcoholic beverage is not in line with Mexico’s regulations.
Mexico’s Tequila Regulatory Council was against the branding of Musk’s liquor as it could confuse the drink’s origin. In order to call a drink a tequila, you will need to produce it in Mexico and follow the rules of making the liquor without diluting the general brand.
“[The] name ‘Teslaquila’ evokes the word Tequila… [and] Tequila is a protected word,” the council commented in November 2018. Later on, in 2019, it filed an objection for Tesla to change the “tequila” moniker. The following month, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property claimed that “Teslaquila” could not be registered.
Musk’s lawyers then argued that the name was simply Tesla with the suffix “quila” at the end, but the final ruling stopped Musk from using the title.
The drink started out a joke. For April Fools, Musk posted a series of tweets stating that the brand had gone bankrupt. “Elon was found passed out against a Tesla 3 model, surrounded by ‘Teslaquila’ bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks,” he wrote along with a photo of himself.
In November 2020, Musk sold the distillate as ‘Tesla Tequila’ for US$250, which immediately sold out.
This $250 bottle of #Tesla Tequila was launched November 5th and sold out the same day.
— ʜᴇʀʙᴀʟɢᴇʀʙɪʟ ₿ (@HGerbal) December 1, 2020
Elon Musk wanted to call his new tequila ‘Teslaquila’ but Mexico said no!
And we got "Tesla Tequila" instead 🥲 pic.twitter.com/EB4STusI5S
Tesla Goes Bankrupt
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2018
Palo Alto, California, April 1, 2018 -- Despite intense efforts to raise money, including a last-ditch mass sale of Easter Eggs, we are sad to report that Tesla has gone completely and totally bankrupt. So bankrupt, you can't believe it.
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 Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2018
This is not a forward-looking statement, because, obviously, what's the point?
Happy New Month! pic.twitter.com/YcouvFz6Y1
[via CREDIT, cover image via Tesla]
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