Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been accused of stealing an artist's farting unicorn image for his own company
Tom Edwards, a Colorado potter, said he was delighted when Musk tweeted a photo of one of his unicorn mugs in February 2017 with the tech exec calling the design 'maybe my favorite mug ever'
So he was stunned when, just a month later, Musk tweeted an identical cartoon to promote Tesla's new 'sketch pad' feature, which allows drivers to draw via an in-car touchscreen
The image, which featured a happy unicorn farting energy which was used to power a car, even appeared on Tesla's company Christmas card and as a small icon on their operating system
But when Musk was confronted by the artist's family, he was unrepentant, telling them they could sue him but to do so would be 'lame
' Share this article Share Edward's daughter Robin Edwards, a Seattle musician who goes by her performer name of Lisa Prank, took the fight public on Tuesday when she tweeted at Musk, saying that he'd 'ripped off' her father, and demanded to know 'what do you have to say for yourself?'Musk replied the following day, via Twitter, claiming the design was created by Nik Jovanovic and chosen by his software team 'as a joke (they didn't tell me in advance)
'He also also offered to 'change it to something else if your Dad wants'.But Prank responded that Tesla had been using her father's 'creative property for a year without credit or compensation' and demanded to know if Musk thought 'artists deserve to be paid for their work
' But Musk fired back, unapologeticly claiming Tesla had received no financial gain from the art work and that they would use another design going forward
He also dismissively conceded that Edwards could sue for copyright breach but 'that's kinda lame' adding that 'if anything, this attention increased his mug sales'
Edwards claims that his lawyers previously sent Tesla a letter, seeking compensation for the work but allowing the company its continuous use
But the letter was ignored.Musk, however, claims he's 'offered to pay the guy who drew it twice already for something I don't even want
'He also tweeted: 'This isn't part of "Tesla branding".'Musk also tweeted at Prank, saying he'd given her dad free advertising, asking 'How much money does your Dad want for this terrible transgression?' The CEO has since deleted all his tweets
Tesla has not commented on the row. Edwards, who told the Guardian the use of his artwork a breach of 'copyright 101', has since released the initial unicorn mugs in 2010, saying he was inspired by electric cars
He has since released a new line of mugs in revenge, which feature Elon Musk and the words 'Tesla stole my unicorn
'The potter added that he'd wanted to speak out because copyright infringement of artists' work was becoming depressingly common
'I realize my farting unicorn is not as serious as whistleblowers,' he told the Guardian, 'but honestly, it's all about integrity
'Despite everything, he remains a Tesla and Musk fan, adding that: 'I'd really like to get on Elon Musk's good side … He's really really interesting
But he isn't above copyright law.'Edwards' Wallypots designs are available here.
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