Elon Musk's Tesla Files New Autonomous Taxi Trademark Application Ahead Of Robotaxi Launch In June

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has filed a fresh trademark application for the wordmark "Tesla Robotaxi" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) after the agency previously rejected its application.

What Happened: The EV giant applied for the trademark with the agency on May 30, the filing shows. Currently, the filing is yet to be reviewed by an examining attorney, but has been accepted by the USPTO.

This agency stated that the filing by Tesla for the trademark "Robotaxi" was too generic, as the term Robotaxi is also used by ride-sharing companies to describe self-driving cabs.

Source: USPTO

"Registration is refused because the applied-for mark merely describes a feature, ingredient, characteristic, purpose, function, intended audience of the applicant’s goods and/or services,” the agency stated.

Why It Matters: The application comes as Tesla is gearing up to launch its Robotaxi services in Austin on June 12. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had previously stated that the launch would have over 10-20 Model Ys initially.

The launch could also prove to be pivotal for the company's future, according to Wedbush Securities' analyst Dan Ives, who called the robotaxi launch a "watershed moment" for Tesla.

The robotaxi race is heating up in the U.S. with Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Waymo recently surpassing Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) in bookings in San Francisco, showcasing the rapid adoption of autonomous cabs in the country.

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