This past April Fools’ Day, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he had been surrounded by Teslaquila bottles and passed out against a Tesla Model 3. It didn’t take long for the serial entrepreneur to get to the action. A few days later Musk filed a trademark and revealed that Teslaquila will indeed be coming soon.
The Tesla CEO first started with the Boring Company hats. He sold a million dollars’ worth of hats. But that wasn’t the end. Musk also started to sell flamethrowers. This was perhaps one of the craziest ideas we have seen from him but it was also the most profitable one. One of these flamethrowers was selling at $500 and over a few days, Musk sold nearly 20,000 of them. He raked in nearly $10 million in revenue from in just six days.
It seems now that Teslaquila is the next project. However, it wouldn’t be the first time a car company sells merchandise to its customers. For instance, BMW sells hats, luggage, thermoses and even golf balls that cost $61 each. Porsche, another automaker, is known for its quilted jackets as well as Porsche-branded Huawei phones. Ferrari, the Italian luxury carmaker, has also been in the market selling things like hats, driving gloves, and keychains that cost about $42. The Italian carmaker also recently started to offer $55 earbuds. In case you’re sitting there wondering who pays $42 for a keychain, then maybe you shouldn’t consider buying one from Maserati because it will cost you $163.
All these custom-made merchandises are used by these automakers to prop up sales and it won’t be a surprise to see Tesla taking this root with booze. The great thing about these merchandises is that you don’t really need to have a Tesla car to own them. You can be part of the lifestyle brand without necessarily having to spend thousands of dollars for a car. It’s also important to note that Teslaquila won’t be the first merchandise from Tesla. The American car company has quite a collection of stuff including a $250 toy version of the Model S. The company has also offered $25 infant onesies and you can also buy a Starman mug for $25.
However, the idea of selling Teslaquila may be smarter than selling keychains and these other merchandises. People buy booze, consume it, and come back for more. This is different from a keychain that can be a collectible for years. If Tesla is looking for a serious alternative to its sales, this would be it. Besides, celebrity Tequila is a big business. For example, Cabo Wabo, a tequila brand created by Sammy Hagar, sold for nearly $100 million in 2007. George Clooney’s tequila brand Casamigos was acquired for $1 billion. This is perhaps another potential revenue stream that Musk can explore.
