Utter the word Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and most people think of the Model S or X electric car, or even the futuristic (and not yet available) Cybertruck. They might also picture Tesla's eccentric CEO Elon Musk, who loves keeping us on our toes with his antics, including his now-famous spruiking of Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) on Saturday Night Live.
So, that's why today's Tesla news is both out of the blue and just another Elon moment at the same time.
According to a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, Musk has filed applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office to use Tesla logos and branding in the food industry. Yes, the food industry, of all things. A surprising new frontier indeed.
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Electric restaurants for Tesla?
The AFR reports that the 3 patent applications are for "restaurant services, pop-up restaurant services, self-service restaurant services, take-out restaurant services".
Musk has reportedly been floating the idea for years. The article stated that Musk tweeted in 2018 that he was going to put an "old-school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA".
As recently as April, he also tweeted: "Major new Supercharger station coming to Santa Monica soon! Hoping to have 50's diner & 100 best movie clips playing too. Thanks Santa Monica city!"
It's not Tesla's first foray into the world of food and drinks. As we covered last November, Tesla launched a self-branded tequila called Tesla Tequila (or 'Teslaquila'). Priced at US$250, it came in a lightning-shaped bottle and sold out within hours of its launch. That was despite it only being available in a few US states and a 2-bottle limit per customer.
Musk has also previously sold flamethrowers. That was through another one of his companies called The Boring Company, which is not publicly listed.
So, there is evidently a lot of demand for the Tesla brand out there. We'll have to keep an eye on this space, and see if Tesla does indeed launch a 1950s diner in the future.
The Tesla share price finished trading on the US NASDAQ down 3.01% to $605.12 yesterday.
