The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has rejected Tesla’s application to trademark the term “Robotaxi,” TechCrunch reported on Wednesday.
The trademark for the ‘Cybercab’ has been suspended.
The office issued a “nonfinal office action” on Tuesday, saying that the term Robotaxi is “too generic” and giving Tesla three months to file a counteraction — after which the USPTO will archive the petition.
The office responded to the trademark on the company’s vehicles, however the U.S. brand is also pursuing the trademark of Robotaxi regarding its upcoming ride-hailing service, which is still under examination.
Tesla’s application for the Cybercab trademark has been put on hold, as other companies are also seeking rights to use the Cyber prefix — particularly those involved in producing aftermarket accessories for the Cybertruck.
The brand filed for the Cybertruck trademark in November 2019, which was granted by 2021. It is applied to land vehicles and electric vehicles, “namely automobiles and trucks (…) pick-up trucks (…) and structural parts.”
The company also submitted for several intent-to-use (ITU) applications with the USPTO for variations of the name, such as the shortened version CYBRTRK.
Cyberquad was included in late 2022, showing Tesla’s intent to develop a series of marks including the Cyber prefix.
In China, the trademark for the Cybertruck was approved in July 2022. Earlier this year, the Elon Musk-led brand successfully registered the Chinese trademark Tesla Cyber (‘特斯拉赛博’). The application was submitted in February 2024.
Ride-hailing Service
During Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call last month, Elon Musk reaffirmed the brand’s plans to launch fully autonomous paid ride services in June.
However, contrarily to what was previously expected, the chief executive said the service would initially operate with “maybe 10 or 20 vehicles on day one,” using the recently refreshed Model Ys rather than the Cybercab.
He stated that the company plans to “scale it up rapidly after that” and that by the “end of June or July,” anyone can “just go to Austin and order a Tesla for autonomous drive.”
The brand revealed on X last month that it has already started testing the ride-hailing service, now operational for employees in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area, with more than 1,500 trips and over 15,000 miles of driving completed up until that moment.
The EV maker unveiled its Cybercab last October, a two-door model with no pedals nor steering wheel, with production expected to start in 2026 and prices below $30,000.
Cybercab Production
Late last month, the first Cybercab castings were allegedly seen at the Giga Texas plant, as shared by X user Joe Tegtmeyer. New vehicle castings were marked “RTTX” — which may refer to “Robotaxi Texas”.
The same user shared new images of several castings with the same label earlier this week. The drone images show dozens of front and rear pieces which are different from Cybertruck’s or Model Y’s parts.
Tesla‘s first Cybercab builds are “coming at the end of this quarter,” according to Travis Axelrod, Head of Investor Relations. Axelrod stated on the earnings call that the company’s “large scale installation of all the equipment in Giga Texas [is] still on schedule for production next year.”
