Recent months have been a nightmare for Elon Musk’s Tesla when it comes to intellectual property. The company’s “Robotaxi” trademark is all but dead in the water, and the company failed to promptly file a trademark application for its Cybercab vehicle. This allowed another company to seek registration for the new Tesla trademark, hindering the Musk-owned brand’s efforts.
Tesla unveiled its plans for the Cybercab at the “We, Robot” event in October 2024. However, the company had apparently not submitted a trademark application for the name at that time. Doing so would have been common practice, as an intent-to-use trademark could provide protection even before a brand identifier is officially used.
This delay allowed an alleged trademark squatter to claim the name, but Tesla appears to have secured an early victory.
Tesla Misses Opportunity for Quick Registration Due to Squatter
In early January 2026, media sources and blogs across the world reported Tesla’s failure to secure the Cybercab trademark. One outlet stated, “Tesla Loses Trademark to ‘Cybercab’ in Comical Display of Incompetence.” There’s no denying that failing to register the trademark in a timely manner was ill-advised, but in reality, the new Tesla trademark was not “lost.”
A week after the announcement of Tesla’s Cybercab – long after the company should have filed an application – French beverage company Unibev began submitting trademark applications. They did this not just with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), but with intellectual property agencies across the globe. Why would a beverage company seek a trademark for a vehicle?
By all accounts, it seems as though the company is engaged in “trademark squatting.” This occurs when an entity registers a trademark with no bona fide intent to use it. They typically do so to extort high fees from the rightful owners of the trademark by selling the rights back to them. However, the richest man on earth doesn’t seem like he’ll take this lying down.
Tesla Notches Early Win Against Alleged Squatter
When Musk’s company finally got around to filing a USPTO trademark application, it quickly saw its new application suspended. This means that all processing on the application ceased due to Unibev’s earlier application. Still, this did not mean that Unibev had any rights over the term “Cybercab.” It simply meant they secured priority filing.
Rather than waiting to see how the Unibev application would turn out, Tesla submitted a trademark opposition. This filing requested that the USPTO deny registration to the beverage company. In the filing, Tesla accused Unibev of many things – but the primary sticking points are trademark squatting and fraud.
It’s rare that an opposition notice is this blatant with accusations. However, the claims may be warranted if everything in the filing is true.
Could Unibev Secure the New Tesla Trademark?
While Unibev sought to register “Cybercab” before Tesla, an earlier filing does not guarantee success. Clearly, the electric vehicle company will not tolerate perceived trademark squatting. Its USPTO opposition submission is over 150 pages long, and it claims the brand has engaged in a global effort to fight Unibev’s alleged fraudulent filings.
The USPTO filing says that Unibev’s CEO openly congratulated Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter) for his Cybercab announcement to shareholders. This congratulatory “tweet” occurred months before Unibev sought rights over “Cybercab.” Add this to the fact that Unibev does not manufacture vehicles – even though it claims it intends to – and accusations of squatting seem more plausible.
For now, Unibev has until April 25, 2026, to respond to claims that they’re squatting on the newest Tesla trademark. While they may choose to continue this fight, going up against the world’s richest man may be a tall order.
