- Tesla’s Cybercab trademark has been suspended by the USPTO.
- A French beverage firm filed for the name before Tesla did.
- The USPTO cited prior use and possible name confusion.
Tesla is no stranger to hurdles in its quest for autonomy. Sometimes, that hurdle is a software problem. Other times, it’s a hardware issue. In this case, it’s something both simple and incredibly vital: the trademark to the name Cybercab.
New filings from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) show that Tesla doesn’t have the rights to that name. Now it appears that it’ll have to pay up or change names.
More: Tesla’s Robotaxi And Cybercab Might Need New Names
The USPTO recently suspended Tesla’s trademark attempt at the name Cybercab, and it’s honestly hilarious that this happened at all. The notice, dated November 14, 2025, halts Tesla’s application (Serial No. 98806788) due to two unresolved issues.
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First, the office reaffirmed a “likelihood of confusion” refusal tied to an existing registration. More importantly, though, the filing is blocked by a prior-filed application with an earlier submission date.
Who would do such a thing? Unibev, a French beverage company known for alcoholic drinks. It submitted the application on October 28, 2024. That’s a cool 18 days after Tesla unveiled the Cybercab, and that’s where the problem lies for the automaker. It didn’t apply for trademark protection until November.
So instead of applying for it before the launch, it waited until after, and in the meantime, Unibev snagged it first. As the suspension notice puts it, Tesla’s application will remain frozen until the earlier filing either registers or is abandoned.
An Ongoing Rivalry
Adding insult to injury, Unibev already has a history with Tesla. The company owns multiple trademarks for “Teslaquila,” the name Tesla once attempted to use for its branded tequila.
That alone suggests Unibev is well aware of Tesla’s branding habits and how to capitalize on them. At this stage, Tesla has already tried and failed to argue that it should get priority here. Now, it’ll have to do one of two things.
First, it could negotiate with Unibev for the rights. That means what we can only assume would be a costly payout since Tesla has already spent plenty on Cybercab branding, and Unibev knows that.
According to Electrek, negotiations are already ongoing. Second, it could give up the Cybercab name, all of the cash it’s already spent on it, and rebrand. Of course, there’s also the possibility that the Cybercab doesn’t actually ever launch, in which case none of it really matters all that much.
