Elon Musk's "Teslaquila" drink clashes with the Mexican tequila industry



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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Tesla co-founder Elon Musk and Mexican tequila producers may be on the brink of a collision after the agave-based beverage industrial group opposed Flaming billionaire's efforts to market an alcoholic beverage called "Teslaquila".

One of the world's richest and Tesla CEO, Musk is known for his ambitious and forward-thinking projects ranging from automatic electrification and rocket construction to high-speed transit tunnels .

It now seems that Musk could aim to disrupt the multi-billion dollar tequila sector.

On October 12, he tweeted "Teslaquila Coming Soon" and a corresponding "visual approximation" of a red and white tag with the Tesla logo and a caption saying "100% Puro of Agave".

Not so fast, said the Tequila Regulatory Council in Mexico. According to her, the "name" Teslaquila "evokes the word Tequila … (and) Tequila is a protected word. "

The CRT monitors producers to ensure they comply with the strict rules of denomination of origin, which require that the spirit be established in the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit or Tamaulipas, among others.

A man dressed as an agave, called jimador, greets tourists in the Herradura tequila factory in Amatitan, Mexico.
AP

According to the website of the US Patent and Trademark Office, Tesla has filed an application for registration of the trademark "Teslaquila" as "distilled agave liquor" and "liquor d & # 39; 39, blue distilled agave ". Similar applications have been filed in Mexico, the European Union and Jamaica.

"If she wants Teslaquila to be viable as tequila, she will have to associate with a licensed tequila producer, adhere to certain standards and seek approval from the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property." ", said the CRT in a statement.

"Otherwise, it would unauthorized use the original name of the tequila," he added, adding that the proposed name, "Teslaquila", could lead consumers to confuse the drink with tequila.

Tesla has not responded to several requests for comments.

Other high profile celebrities have taken advantage of the new international fame of tequila, while spirit wins the ranks of leading liqueurs and that it loses its image of spirited drinking drunk by desperate people and fraternities.

Last year, Diageo Plc bought Casamigos, the high-end tequila brand of actor George Clooney, up to $ 1 billion.

Other recent transactions in the sector include the contract signed in January by Bacardi Ltd for the purchase of Fin Patron Spirits International tequila maker for $ 5.1 billion.

After years of speculation, the Mexican Beckmann family launched Jose Cuervo's first public offering in 2017, raising more than $ 900 million.

Report by Sharay Angulo; written by Anthony Esposito; edited by Frank Jack Daniel and Rosalba O & # 39; Brien

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