Tesla's Retail Therapy

Tesla's Retail Therapy

Last week, Tesla boss Elon Musk was quite candid about the fact that his EV company came close to bankruptcy in the run up to getting the Model 3 out into production. He was being very serious this time but two years ago, Musk actually took to Twitter on April Fools’ Day declaring Tesla was actually bankrupt. His tweet included a photo of him lying passed out against a Tesla Model 3 with the caption:

Elon was found passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by "Teslaquilla" bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks.

Later that year in October, Musk filed an application to trademark Teslaquila with eventual plans to produce a Tesla-branded Tequila. He posted a picture on Twitter showing the prototype of the branded alcohol drink informing us that Teslaquila was “coming soon”. 

And here we are, two years later and Tesla finally got its Teslaquila to the market. Earlier this week, Elon Musk presented the new Tesla Tequila on Twitter. However, the moment the new drink went on sale, it was sold out within minutes. The $250 hand-blown glass lightning-bolt-shaped bottle looks very different to the more generic version shown back in 2018, and it certainly has shown to be very appealing to Tesla fans, regardless of the price. Unfortunately, it only went on sale in certain states within the US and customers were limited to 2 bottles.

The tequila product is simply branded as Tesla Tequila, and not Teslaquila, which was trademarked with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Because of its unique shape, the Tesla Tequila bottle comes lodged in a Tesla-branded metal stand making this an eye-catching addition to any bar. Tesla describes its new consumable online as:

"An exclusive, premium 100% de agave tequila añejo aged in French oak barrels, featuring a dry fruit and light vanilla nose with a balanced cinnamon pepper finish."

The drink is produced by agave spirits brand Nosotros Tequila, and distributed by Speakeasy Co.

Musk is known for his eccentric ideas that are completely unrelated to his business ventures, like producing and selling 20,000 flamethrowers under The Boring Company label. It was advertised as ‘not-a-flamethrower’. It is described with Musk humor on The Boring Company’s website:

  • Fire extinguisher sold separately (for exorbitant amounts of money)
  • Additional customs fees may apply for international orders because of laws
  • International customers can receive a full refund if not happy with said fees
  • Before shipping, aspiring flamethrower aficionados will be sent a terms and conditions rhyme for review and acceptance
  • May not be used on Boring Company decorative lacquered hay bales or Boring Company dockside munitions warehouses

    You could even buy a Boring Company Fire Extinguisher:

    The Boring Company Fire Extinguisher
    Buy an overpriced Boring Company fire extinguisher! You can definitely buy one for less elsewhere, but this one comes with a cool sticker and the button is conveniently riiiight above.

    Musk dropped another limited edition of a retail product this year, the S3XY Tesla satin shorts at a price of $69.420, which is just another quirky gimmick that fans were keen to indulge in. So, if you were hoping to bag a Tesla Tequila for Christmas, you will have to wait in line.

    People are in a bit of a frenzy about getting their hands on the new Tesla Tequila and on eBay you will find sellers advertising up to $900 for an empty Tesla bottle. Patience is a virtue here and it’s probably best to wait it out until stock is replenished and availability is extended to other regions.