Billionaire Elon Musk gets to do what he wants and turn joke tweets into actual businesses — remember the Boring Company? — and the latest is a premium tequila in a lightning-bolt-shaped bottle with Tesla branding.
Back before he got fined by the SEC for being too cavalier with his tweeting about actual business affairs, Musk tweeted an April Fool's joke in 2018 about going "bankwupt," with a photo of himself "passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by 'Teslaquilla' bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks."
Elon was found passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by "Teslaquilla" bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2018
This is not a forward-looking statement, because, obviously, what's the point?
Happy New Month! pic.twitter.com/YcouvFz6Y1
Well, he later filed a patent for "Teslaquila," and as of Thursday night, Tesla Tequila went live as an actual product on the Tesla website. It costs $250 a bottle, and the product description says it is "an exclusive, premium 100% de agave tequila añejo aged in French oak barrels, featuring a dry fruit and light vanilla nose with a balanced cinnamon pepper finish." By dawn, as the SF Business Times reports, it was out of stock.
Also, as a marker of the insanity of Tesla fan-boy culture, empty bottles of the shit are already selling on eBay for $500 to $2500.
The maker of the tequila is reportedly Hermosa Beach-based Nosotros Tequila, whose own product sells for $40 a bottle.
Buyers were limited to two bottles apiece, and the project is scheduled to ship later this year — and only to certain states where incoming alcohol shipments are permitted.
Musk now joins dozens of celebrities who have attached their names to liquor brands, including George Clooney (Casamigos Tequila), Ryan Reynolds (Aviation Gin), Kate Hudson (King St. Vodka), Post Malone (Maison No. 9 Wine), Michael Jordan (Cincoro Tequila), Derek Jeter (Bespoken Spirits), Sean "Diddy" Combs (Ciroc Vodka), and Nick Jonas (Villa One Tequila). And who can forget Trump Vodka, from the serial failed entrepreneur turned president who doesn't drink.
Most of those bottles don't go for $250 — and it's unclear whether Tesla Tequila is just a one-time stunt that will become a cult collector's item, or an actual going concern.