When Tesla first appeared, Elon Musk’s tequila on Twitter was an April 1 joke and it was called “Tesla”. Nevertheless, this name could not remain in the final product, although it was very close to it.

The fact is that the name “Teslaquila” is not allowed according to the regulations of the tequila industry. The word “tequila” is a designation of origin, which means that only the agribusiness of tequila can use this word. It also means that no one can register this word as their own.

The main problem with branding is that – according to the Tequila Regulatory Board (CRT), which is responsible for and regulates the production, consumption and marketing of tequila – “Teslaquila” has the very word “tequila”. CRT certification chief Martin Munoz said Teslaquila could be confused about the origin of the product, and Mexican industrial property law prohibits the use of the trademark. Simply put, because “Teslaquila” is so similar to the word “Tequila” it can not be registered as a brand.

In 2018, a legal representative tried to register the Teslaquila brand in Mexico – the only country where tequila is made. In February 2019, CRT filed a lawsuit against the brand; In March 2019, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property said Teslaquila could not be registered because it looked too much like a tequila designation. On July 16, Muskie’s team will counter this with the argument that the word “Teslaquilaa” was a combination of the company name, “Tesla”, and the suffix “-kila”. The final decision was made on January 16, 2020: the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property said that Teslaquila could not be registered as a brand.

It is true that the CRT rejected “Teslaquia”, but it did not end there – only this name ended. Eventually, the product was renamed “Tesla Tequila”.

Registration is the first step a company must go through to create a brand. This is the same process that 164 companies selling more than 1,800 Tequila brands have gone through. According to Munoz, in February Tesla forgot the name “Teslaki” and agreed on “Tesla Tequila”. Tesla Tequila is currently registered in Mexico and the United States.

Still, the brand faced another problem that had nothing to do with the regulations: the lightning-shaped glass bottle in which the Tesla Tequila is bottled. The design is inspired by a Tesla GPS map icon that shows the location of charging stations.

“Several suppliers have told us that it was impossible to mass-produce such glass bottles,” said Javier Verdura, Tesla’s product design manager.

Finally, on November 5, the Lightning-shaped bottle went on sale for $ 250 and supplies ran out the same day. “We had no doubt that this would happen,” Verdura said.