Tesla Snaps Up "Cybercar" Trademark Just 37 Seconds After Musk Mentions It on Call

During Tesla's Q4 2025 earnings call, Elon Musk revealed the company would abandon the name "Cybercab" in favor of "Cybervehicle" or "Cybercar" to avoid confusion with the concept of a taxi. Immediately after his remarks, Tesla’s legal team sprang into action—just two hours after the call ended, at 7:32–7:33 p.m. on January 28, 2026, they filed emergency trademark applications for both names, spaced just 37 seconds apart. This move clearly reflects lessons learned from the earlier incident where the "Cybercab" name was preemptively registered by a soda company. Nevertheless, Tesla’s reactive strategy of announcing names publicly before securing trademarks has drawn criticism: although "Cybertruck" has already been successfully registered, it remains uncertain whether the new names will pass the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s rigorous review process.