06-28-2018, 01:32 PM
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2...om-edwards
Tom Edwards, a Colorado potter, was thrilled when Elon Musk tweeted a photo of one of his original mugs featuring his cartoon drawing of a unicorn farting electricity. The Tesla CEO called it “maybe my favorite mug ever” in a February 2017 post – leading to a bump in sales from around the world.
Edwards was surprised however, when, a month later, Musk tweeted a copy of his cartoon image to promote Tesla’s new “sketch pad” feature, which allows drivers to draw on a touchscreen. Multiple news articles inaccurately reported that Musk was the one who created and drew the cartoon.
The 61-year-old artist was going to let it go until he learned the image was also appearing in Tesla’s operating system as a small icon – and that the company had even used it in a Christmas card.
“It’s part of their branding now,” Edwards said in an interview. “I love the fact that it’s in the cars, but I just want them to do the right thing and pay me adequately for it. Elon Musk can be a hero for standing up for artists’ rights
Musk, however, seems uninterested in compensating or crediting the artist. Instead, he tweeted at Edwards’ daughter this week that it would be “lame” to sue and that the potter should be grateful for the “attention”.
