MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tesla Inc co-founder Elon Musk and Mexico’s tequila producers could be headed for a collision after the agave-based drink’s industry group opposed the flamboyant billionaire’s efforts to trademark an alcoholic drink dubbed “Teslaquila.” 
 
 One of the world’s richest people and chief executive of Tesla (TSLA.O), Musk is known for ambitious and cutting-edge projects ranging from auto electrification and rocket-building to high-speed transit tunnels. 
 
 Now it seems that Musk could be setting his sights on disrupting the multibillion-dollar tequila industry. 
 
 On Oct. 12, he tweeted “Teslaquila coming soon” and an accompanying “visual approximation” of a red and white label with the Tesla logo and a caption that stated “100 percent Puro de Agave.” 
 
 Not so fast, said Mexico’s Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT). It argued that the “name ‘Teslaquila’ evokes the word Tequila ... (and) Tequila is a protected word.” 
 
 The CRT keeps tabs on producers to assure they adhere to strict denomination of origin rules, which dictate the spirit must be made in the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit or Tamaulipas, among other requirements. 
 
 According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website, Tesla has filed an application to trademark “Teslaquila” as a “distilled agave liquor” and “distilled blue agave liquor.” Similar applications have been filed in Mexico, the European Union and Jamaica. 
 
 “If it wants to make Teslaquila viable as a tequila it would have to associate itself with an authorized tequila producer, comply with certain standards and request authorization from Mexico’s Industrial Property Institute,” said the CRT in a statement. 
 
 “Otherwise it would be making unauthorized use of the denomination of origin for tequila,” it said, adding that the proposed name “Teslaquila” could make consumers confuse the drink with tequila. 
 
 Tesla did not respond to several requests for comment. 
 
 Other high-profile celebrities have cashed in on tequila’s new-found international appeal, as the sprit moves into the ranks of top-shelf liquors and sheds its image as a fiery booze drunk by desperadoes and frat boys. 
 
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 Last year, Diageo Plc (DGE.L) bought actor George Clooney’s high-end tequila brand Casamigos for up to $1 billion. 
 
 Other recent deals in the industry include Bacardi Ltd’s BACLTD.UL January deal to buy fine tequila maker Patron Spirits International for $5.1 billion. 
 
 After years of speculation, Mexico’s Beckmann family launched an initial public offering of Jose Cuervo (CUERVO.MX) in 2017, raising more than $900 million. ||||| Last month Tesla filed for a trademark on “Teslaquila,” a “distilled agave liquor” that mercurial CEO Elon Musk had joked about back in April. “Teslaquila coming soon,” Musk tweeted on October 12th, along with a picture of a label bearing the phrase, “100% puro de agave.” 
 
 The thing is, you can’t just go ahead and produce tequila — the spirit is only supposed to be made in Mexico, and its production and name are tightly-controlled by that country’s Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT). So, naturally, the council is not pleased about Tesla’s new, pun-laden product. 
 
 According to a Wednesday Reuters report, the CRT has issued a statement arguing that “Teslaquila” is meant to make people think of tequila, and “tequila” is a protected word that can’t be deployed by just anyone. 
 
 “If it wants to make Teslaquila viable as a tequila it would have to associate itself with an authorized tequila producer, comply with certain standards and request authorization from Mexico’s Industrial Property Institute,” the council grumbled. “Otherwise it would be making unauthorized use of the denomination of origin for tequila.” 
 
 Denomination of origin is a serious business for many countries, the U.S. included (Tennessee whiskey can only come from that state,) and it is most frequently applied in cases of booze and cheese. This protectiveness is particularly acute in Europe, whose trade deals mandate that feta cheese can only come from Greece, champagne can only come from that region of France, and so on. 
 
 If Tesla goes ahead with its tequila plans without the Mexican authorities’ approval — and it has applied for the Teslaquila trademark in that country too — then it may find itself being sued by the Mexican government.
– Elon Musk could be in for another fight, this one over tequila. The Tesla co-founder recently announced his intentions to get into the booze business by launching "Teslaquila," a distilled agave liquor. But Mexico's Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT) is opposing Tesla's application to trademark "Teslaquila," arguing that the word is too close to the word "tequila," which is a protected word. Denomination of origin rules stipulate that tequila has to be made in the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit or Tamaulipas, and dictates other requirements as well, Reuters reports. If Tesla "wants to make Teslaquila viable as a tequila it would have to associate itself with an authorized tequila producer, comply with certain standards and request authorization from Mexico’s Industrial Property Institute," CRT says in a statement. "Otherwise it would be making unauthorized use of the denomination of origin for tequila," and customers might confuse it with actual tequila. Fortune notes similar rules are in place for champagne (which must come from the Champagne region in France), feta cheese (which must come from Greece), and other food and drink products. (Oprah's favorite tequila is expensive—very expensive.)