Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is branching out of cars and rockers into booze with the launch of a branded Tesla Tequila. The company launched the Tesla tequila on Thursday, making good Elon Musk’s promise of offering its brand of liquor.
Tesla unveils branded tequila
The Tequila will cost around $250 and comes in a lightning-shaped bottle produced by the southern California spirits brand, Nosotros Tequila. The bottle is etched with the Tesla, and according to the description of the product, it is “100% de agave tequila Anejo aged in French oak barrels featuring a dry fruit and light vanilla nose with a balanced cinnamon pepper finish.” Supplies of the Tequila sold out on the company’s website even with orders being limited to two bottles each and availability being in certain states.
Originally the branding was Teslaquila, but this might have jettisoned along the way. The idea began on April Fool’s day, and in 2018 Musk tweeted that Tesla was filing for bankruptcy and he was found passed out against a Tesla Model 3 with a “teslaquilla” bottle. Later that year, the company filed a trademark for Teslaquila with the USPTO.
Like champagne, Tequila is subject to stringent denomination of origin rules and has to be manufactured in one of the five states in Mexico. It has to come from blue agave, and California-based Nostros Tequila sourced it from Jalisco. In 2018 Tesla ran into trouble with the Tequila Regulatory Council of Mexico after tweeting the visual approximation. The issue had to do with a patent application that was not in line with the Tequila denomination of origin rules.
Automakers venturing into non-auto merchandise
This is not the first time the company is deviating from the manufacture of its core product. At the beginning of this year, Tesla was selling mini red gym shorts on its site on a playful hit back at investors, with each short going at $69.42. Also, besides Tesla, other luxury car brands have been releasing non-auto merchandise. For instance, Porsche sells branded-Huawei phones, BMW sells thermoses, while Ferrari sells $55 earbuds.
