Elon Musk might be a 'genius inventor' if you believe some people, but he isn't so great at branding his creations. Tesla has the same name as an existing company (see our Tesla logo history), the Cybertruck sounds like a generic vehicle from a 90s sci-fi movie, Optimus is named after a Transformer and X is just the 24th letter in the English alphabet.
Tesla will be hoping its Robotaxi can help the brand recover some of the lustre it lost amid the Cybertruck flop and the damage Elon Musk has caused to its image. But it seems it may have to go back to the drawing board with the name. And Cybercab is in doubt too. Fortunately, the internet has some suggestions.
Its a cab and it's cyber: Tesla's vision for its planned autonomous taxi (Image credit: Tesla)
As reported by Techcrunch, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a 'nonfinal office action' rejecting Tesla’s application to trademark the Robotaxi name for its planned autonomous vehicles.
Although it found that the name doesn't conflict with any existing trademarks, it deemed the term to be “merely descriptive" since it's already used to "describe similar goods and services by other companies.”
That seems like a fair appraisal considering that robotaxi is used as a generic term for the concept of an autonomous cab. The word's already listed in some dictionaries and has been widely used in the media to describe the products of Tesla rivals. Trademarking 'Robotaxi' would be like Apple trademarking the word 'Laptop' instead of 'MacBook'.
Tesla has three months to respond with arguments to support its case, or the application will be considered abandoned. A separate application for the same name but in reference to Tesla's planned autonomous ride-hailing service is still being reviewed.
Meanwhile, Tesla's applications for the Cybercab name are on hold because of other companies applying for similar trademarks, including one that markets Cybertruck accessories. There's no news yet on the term Robobus, which Tesla has also applied for.
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Tesla's idea of what its robotaxi could look like inside (Image credit: Tesla)
If Tesla can't trademark the Robotaxi name, that doesn't mean it can't use it. Descriptive names can be a brand advantage when it comes to searches. For, example, if someone Googles 'robotaxis in Miami', you'd assume Tesla's Robotaxi might be the first result. But if it can't trademark the name, other companies could also use it, so it may want to try to get a bit more creative.
As we saw in our history of big brand names, the right name can mean everything. Names that are unrelated to the product can often stand out: think Google and Amazon. One of the first tips in our piece on how to create product names is 'don't describe.
Other brands in the autonomous vehicle space include Alphabet's Waymo, Amazon's Zoox, Intel-backed Mobileye and China-based Pony.ai. None of these are as nearly as utilitarian as Robotaxi or Cybercab.
So how could Tesla rebrand the robotaxi? One option could be to change the spelling. "Knowing Elon he’ll prob do a R0b0taxi to be edgy," one person suggests over on Reddit. Or perhaps Robotaxxxi?
"How about Robotaxi (supervised)?," one wag has suggested in reference to Tesla's infamous Full Self-Driving feature. 'Dogetaxi' and 'RobotaKKKsi' are other inevitable suggestions doing the rounds. Have a better idea (perhaps even a serious one?) Let us know in the comments section below.
The Tesla Robotaxi's long road
The Robotaxi has already faced a few holdups and controversies. Elon initially told shareholders back in 2015 that Tesla would have fully autonomous cars within three years. In 2016, he promised a self-driving car that could get from Los Angeles to New York by the end of the next year. In 2019, he said he would have a million-strong fleet of “robotaxi ready” cars on the road by late 2020. Tesla now says its robotaxi / cybercab production will start by 2027.
Tesla finally applied to trademark the Robotaxi and Cybercab names in October last year when it revealed its vision for the vehicle. Alcon Entertainment, the production company behind Blade Runner 2049, promptly sued it for using what appeared to be Blade Runner-inspired AI-generated imagery in the launch.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
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