{"id":227208,"date":"2026-05-28T09:01:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T09:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/neither-robotaxi-nor-cybercab-elon-musk-struggles-to-name-his-autonomous-taxi-thanks-to-french-sparkling-water\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T09:02:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T09:02:00","slug":"neither-robotaxi-nor-cybercab-elon-musk-struggles-to-name-his-autonomous-taxi-thanks-to-french-sparkling-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/neither-robotaxi-nor-cybercab-elon-musk-struggles-to-name-his-autonomous-taxi-thanks-to-french-sparkling-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Neither Robotaxi nor Cybercab: Elon Musk Struggles to Name His Autonomous Taxi, Thanks to French Sparkling Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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## The Naming Conundrum of Tesla’s Autonomous Taxi<\/p>\n

It has almost been a year since Tesla’s first autonomous taxis hit the streets, yet the vehicle still lacks an official name. This predicament is not merely a trivial issue; it involves significant legal intricacies, with a unique twist involving a French sparkling water company.<\/p>\n

### A Missed Opportunity<\/p>\n

Tesla recently held the ‘We, Robot’ event in 2024, where it showcased the highly anticipated Cybercab. However, in an amusing yet strategic oversight, the company announced the name without prior registration. This lapse allowed Unibev, a French beverage company, to seize the opportunity and register the name Cybercab just six days later. Unibev seems to have a penchant for mixing mischief with business, and it strategically used this moment to become a thorn in Elon Musk’s side.<\/p>\n

### The Rise of the Patent Troll<\/p>\n

Unibev’s actions can be classified as a classic case of patent trolling. Not only did they register Cybercab, but they also popped up with various other names such as Cybertaxi, Robocab Systems, and even Teslaquila Hard Seltzer. In a world where patents are common battlegrounds, their actions feel both ludicrous and ironical, considering their history of targeting Tesla.<\/p>\n

### The Legal Struggle<\/p>\n

Following Unibev’s registration of the Cybercab name, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) suspended Tesla’s application. In response, Tesla promptly filed a 150-page lawsuit accusing Unibev of bad faith. Unibev\u2019s claim that they could use the name for various modes of transport, including cars and planes, adds complexity to Tesla\u2019s counterarguments. The litigation process could extend until 2027, and depending on the outcome, Tesla may be forced to negotiate name usage outside the U.S. or even rebrand in some markets.<\/p>\n

### The Quest for ‘Robotaxi’<\/p>\n

Tesla initially thought they could sidestep the naming chaos by trademarking ‘Robotaxi.’ Unfortunately, the USPTO rejected this attempt, stating that the term is generic and commonly used in the industry. Essentially, USPTO’s perspective was that attempting to patent a term as standard as ‘taxi’ is simply unrealistic.<\/p>\n

### A Pattern of Oversight<\/p>\n

The naming chaos isn’t confined only to the autonomous taxi. It also extends to Tesla’s autonomous minibus, previously presented as “Robovan.” Yet again, Tesla announced a name before confirming its availability, only to find it was already registered by an Estonian delivery company. As a result, they are now considering less desirable alternatives like “Robobus” and “Cyberbus.”<\/p>\n

### Conclusion<\/p>\n

The whimsical saga of Tesla’s autonomous taxi naming game highlights a significant lesson in the world of patents and trademarks. With a brilliant technology driving the future of transportation, one can’t help but wonder if bureaucratic missteps and overlooked registrations might overshadow Tesla’s innovations. For now, we\u2019ll have to wait and see what unique name emerges from this pint-sized patent melee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

## The Naming Conundrum of Tesla’s Autonomous Taxi It has almost been a year since Tesla’s first autonomous taxis hit the streets, yet the vehicle still lacks an official name. This predicament is not merely a trivial issue; it involves significant legal intricacies, with a unique twist involving a French sparkling water company. ### A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":227209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[26890,53098,4159,3543,4160,37456,24084,1734,3005,896],"class_list":["post-227208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-autonomous","tag-cybercab","tag-elon","tag-french","tag-musk","tag-robotaxi","tag-sparkling","tag-struggles","tag-taxi","tag-water"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227208"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227210,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227208\/revisions\/227210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}