What seemingly started as a joke appears to become reality as Tesla filed for a ‘Teslaquila’ trademark for tequila and Elon Musk says that it is ‘coming soon’. Earlier this year, Musk poked fun at Tesla haters with an April Fool’s joke about the company going bankrupt. As part of the joke, Musk wrote that he was found “passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by “Teslaquilla” bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks. Shortly after, Tesla applied for an actual trademark on the name ‘Teslaquila’, according to a new filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office that has become public this week: The filing says that Tesla intends to use the trademark for ‘distilled agave liquor’, like tequila – hence the name. Following the trademark going public, Musk tweeted that it is “coming soon” and released a “visual approximation”: The image features an old Tesla logo and therefore, the actual bottle is likely going to be different. It sounds like a greatly different product from Tesla’s usual products. However, the company has often launched limited edition products that have nothing to do with its core competency, like a Tesla surfboard recently. Premium automakers often leverage their strong brand with lifestyle products and accessories, but a hard liquor could be a first. Electrek’s Take I feel like this could end up a referral program prize or something of the sort. In my opinion, Elon, or someone around Elon, came up with the name when they did the April Fool’s joke and they came to the conclusion that it was too good of a name not to be a product. Though there’s something weird about an automaker making hard liquor. It’s not like they are promoting drinking and driving, but there’s still a weird feeling about it. What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.<doc-sep>What started out as an April Fools' Day joke may soon become a reality according to a trademark filing and tweets from Elon Musk: There may soon be a Tesla-themed tequila. A trademark application filed by Tesla on Monday seeks to protect the name "Teslaquila" and identifies the product as "distilled agave liquor; Distilled blue agave liquor." Tesla CEO Musk tweeted about "Teslaquilla" (then spelled using two "l"s) on April 1, 2018, joking that Tesla had gone bankrupt and he had "passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by 'Teslaquilla' bottles." After CNBC reported the story Friday, Musk tweeted a "Visual approximation" of the product. CNBC reports that while there is no guarantee that the product will go to market, the trademark means the company has a "good faith intention" to develop the brand. Musk and his electric-car company have been in the news recently for a number of different reasons. Tesla outsold Mercedes-Benz in the U.S. for the first time and Musk agreed to relinquish his Tesla chairmanship in a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk also has generated a number of controversies in recent months for his carefree behavior, including apparently smoking marijuana on a video podcast. Contributing: Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY.<doc-sep>Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed Friday in a tweet that the Tesla-branded tequila called “Teslaquilla”—the bottle of liquor that co-starred in his April Fool’s Day joke about the automaker filing for bankruptcy — is “coming soon.” Musk’s tweet was a response to a CNBC article that reported Tesla had filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark “Teslaquila.” Musk later tweeted a photo of a Teslaquila label. The Teslaquila story began on April Fool’s Day after Musk posted a photo of himself passed out against a Tesla Model 3 “surrounded by “Teslaquilla” bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks.” In the photo, Musk is holding a cardboard sign that reads “bankwupt.” 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 It’s important to note that the filing Monday is an “intent to use” trademark, which, just like it sounds, means Tesla has a “bona fide intention, and is entitled, to use the mark in commerce on or in connection with the identified goods/services.”<doc-sep>Tequila and Twitter might just mix for Elon Musk. Last week CNBC reported that Tesla had filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to trademark the brand name “Teslaquila,” an idea Musk came up with on Twitter The whole thing started as an April Fool’s joke in which Musk, Tesla’s CEO, tweeted that the company was filing for bankruptcy and that he was drowning his sorrows in Teslaquila. Unlike some of his other Twitter musings, like when he contemplated about taking Tesla private and got fined $20 million by the SEC as a result, Teslaquila could actually turn out to be a solid idea. In 2017, George Clooney, sold Casamigos, the tequila brand he and his long-time pal and drinking buddy Rande Gerber started, to the international spirits giant Diaego for a billion dollars. The Rock has also indicated that he will soon be launching his own brand of tequila, called Mana. Sean Combs owns half of the brand DeLéon. Justin Timberlake’s Sauza 901 Tequila launched with a tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign in which JT plays a dried up lime who can’t find work because of the supremely smooth new tequila on the market. Celebrity booze in general is booming: Bob Dylan sells whiskey now, Ryan Reynolds owns a stake in Aviation Gin, and everyone, seemingly, has a rosé. Tequila though, is an especially sweet spot in the market, having become prominent, along with mezcal, on menus at the types of bars and restaurants that make frequent cameos on Instagram. Fortune reports that overall, tequila sales grew 8.5% from 2016 to 2017; exports of pure tequila from Mexico to the US grew nearly 200% in the past decade; and sales by volume of high-end tequilas that cost $100 a bottle or more have increased by close to 350% since 2002. There’s no need to actually have any knowledge of agave farming, distilling methods, or any of the details of production to put your name on a bottle. While Clooney and Gerber claim to taste every batch, Reynolds and Diddy admit they simply decided to pony up large investments in companies that really spoke to their taste buds. This is a game you can buy your way into. A ready audience, an affluent market—Teslaquila seems ready-made for Musk. Some of his Twitter fans even have some notes on the idea.<doc-sep>
An April Fool's joke may become a reality for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. Tesla's CEO teased a Tesla-branded tequila earlier this year as part of a ruse on social media. On Monday, the company officially filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark "Teslaquila." The trademark is for "distilled agave liquor" and "distilled blue agave liquor." Teslaquila first appeared as part of an April Fool's prank in which Musk said on Twitter that his electric car company was going bankrupt and that he had been found "passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by 'Teslaquila' bottles." A few days later, he posted a photo on Instagram of a tequila bottle with a Teslaquila label plastered on it. Elon Musk Tweet Representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. While there is no guarantee that a Tesla-brand tequila will hit the market, the company filed an "intent to use" trademark for Teslaquila, which means that it is currently not using it, but has a "good faith intention" to use it in the future. In addition, Tesla appears to have initially applied for this trademark in Jamaica back in April and is asserting a U.S. priority date based on that foreign application. Since Tesla's U.S. application was filed within six months of its foreign application, the USPTO will use the first-filed foreign application date as the filing date for the U.S. application. This can provide a major advantage for Tesla, as it provides the earliest possible filing date for the mark. In other words, if other applicants file similar marks after that date, they will be rejected or suspended. WATCH: Elon Musk's big ambitions may be killing Tesla