A French beverage company could derail Tesla’s ‘Cybercab’ name

Elon Musk and Tesla want to call their autonomous robotaxi service Cybercabs, a name that would seem to fit snugly with the company’s line of “Cyber” products. But an obscure French beverage wholesaler, run by someone who appears to be a devoted Musk fan, could ruin those plans. Most Read from Fast Company - A record number of Americans want out—and now the government is making it easier - Use the Military Sleep Method to fall asleep within 2 minutes, starting tonight UniBev, based in Ajaccio, France, beat Tesla to filing for the trademark for Cybercab. Last week, Musk’s company struck back, filing a 167-page complaint with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that called UniBev “a bad faith trademark squatter, who started as a Tesla fan.” UniBev has until April 19 to respond to the complaint. Should the issue go to trial, a decision could be delayed until 2027. That would put Tesla in a bind, since it expects to begin production on the vehicles in April, with sales planned to launch before the end of the year. Tesla has also submitted trademark filings for “Cybercar” and “Cybervehicle,” which could allow it to bypass regulatory requirements in some cities tied to the word “cab.” There are no indications, however, that it plans to step back from the Cybercab name. Tesla did not reply to Fast Company‘s request for comment. Ironically, Tesla shoulders much of the blame for the dispute. It publicly announced the Cybercab name on April 23, 2024, during an earnings call. At the time, though, no one at the company had filed for a trademark. That gave UniBev co-owner, and Tesla shareholder, Jean-Louis Lentali an opening to file a trademark application in France on April 29. (Tesla did not apply for the trademark until October.) Under international trademark law, Lentali’s application was given priority. At the moment, UniBev holds rights to the Cybercab trademark in the United States and internationally. Tesla, in its complaint, cited UniBev’s long history of registering patents and trademarks referencing the automaker and speculating about products tied to it. Those include French rights to the names Cyber Diner, Cybervan, and XCab, as well as U.S. rights to Teslaquila and Teslaquila Hard Seltzer. Tesla, it is worth noting, holds trademarks for CyberBeast (for vehicles), CyberBeer (for beverages), CyberHammer (for “exercise equipment”), CyberVessel (for drinkware), and CyberWhistle (for toys). It has released products tied to all of those trademarks.