Update Jan. 4: It appears this filing was not made by Tesla, but instead by a fan of the company named Jerome Eady, reports Bloomberg:
When reached Wednesday via telephone, Eady said he intended to help the company by filing the application proactively after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said its Cybertruck may be usable as a boat. Eady said he has no affiliation with Tesla and the filing was made without the company’s knowledge.
Our original story is as follows below:
Tesla has filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a new trademark to market electric motors for airplanes, boats, and, weirdly enough, toys, as spotted by electrek.
According to the filing, Tesla wants to extend its existing trademark on electric motors to motors that are “not for land vehicles.” The filing, while pretty broad, mentions “motors for airplanes,” “boat motors,” and “electric motors for toys,” among others.
TESLA™ trademark registration is intended to cover the categories of asynchronous motors not for land vehicles; Motors for airplanes; Motors, namely, synchronous motors not for land vehicles; Permanent magnet motors; Boat motors; Drive system having two or more synchronous motors coupled through clutches to drive a common load; Electric motors for toys; Linear motors.
In its filing, Tesla goes on to say that it does not currently use its electric motor trademark for any of these categories, but “intends to use” it in the future.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has expressed interest in making an electric plane in the past. However, he has always maintained that his company needs to focus on road vehicles for now. With battery technology nearing the 400 Wh/kg threshold Musk previously said would be needed for a viable electric plane, could Tesla soon take to the skies?
Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) can safely tread a bit of water, and Musk has even said that the company’s upcoming Cybertruck will be “waterproof enough” to briefly serve as a boat to cross rivers, lakes, and even seas. However, developing an actual electric boat would amount to a significant deviation for the vehicle maker.
Tesla’s filing also included “linear motors,” which have plenty of applications but are most commonly used in trains.
A trademark application doesn’t necessarily guarantee Tesla has plans to make electric motors for any of these new categories (and even if it does, it could be years before they come to fruition). Even so, the filing is interesting, to say the least.
