Elon Musk’s Tesla Is Getting Into the Tequila Game With ‘Teslaquila’

Venture capitalist and tech titan Elon Musk has apparently decided it’s not enough for Tesla to usher in a new age of clean energy — now the car company is getting into booze with Tesla-branded tequila. The company’s CEO (and soon-to-be ex-chairman) tweeted a series of April Fools Day jokes about the company earlier this year, including a reference to Musk getting drunk on “Teslaquilla.” Now, the company seems to be going all in on the liquor brand, having filed an application on October 8 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a more streamlined spelling of “Teslaquila.”

Musk followed up the early reports of the filing by tweeting “Teslaquila coming soon ...” and a “visual approximation,” with a red, white, and black Teslaquila label on a 750 milliliter bottle. The application is for an “intent to use” trademark, suggesting that the company has a “good faith intention” to use it in the future, notes CNBC.

Musk been under intense pressure over the past several months after an August 7 tweet resulted in a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of Tesla.

Musk was then seen smoking marijuana in California on Joe Rogan’s podcast, spooking some investors. He was recently forced to step down as chairman of the electric car company as part of a settlement with the SEC.

It’s not the first time Musk has come up with a clever tie-in for Tesla and food. He’s tweeted several times over the past year about developing old school drive-ins with carhops at Tesla Supercharger stations in Los Angeles. What’s not clear is how associating a liquor brand with a car company would contribute to a more stable image of its figurehead; It does, however, allow Musk to fulfill his destiny of becoming the three commas guy Russ Hanneman from Silicon Valley.

• Elon Musk’s Tesla Files For a Trademark of ‘Teslaquila’ [CNBC]
• Teslaquila Trademark Application [Official]
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