Artist accuses Tesla of stealing farting unicorn artwork

Tesla allegedly used potter Tom Edwards\' coffee mug art for a software icon without asking for permission.

A childishly scrawled drawing of a farting unicorn is at the center of Elon Musk's latest Twitter battle.

hey y'all Grimes' boyfriend ripped off my dad's art! this is a true story! what do you have to say for yourself @elonmusk ?? https://t.co/TMMJAS1ZGM

— Lisa Prank (@lisaprank) June 26, 2018

The executive last year posted an image on Twitter of artist Tom Edwards' unicorn coffee mug, which serves as a joke about electric cars being powered by magical unicorn flatulence. Musk said it might be his "favorite mug ever."

The image then popped up as an icon to Tesla's easter-egg sketchpad app in the infotainment platform for the Model S and Model X. Tesla allegedly never asked permission to use the artwork, prompting Edwards to find an attorney and start a discussion over potential compensation, according to Westword.

"We gained no financial benefit," Musk responded on Twitter. "Have asked my team to use a diff example going forward. He can sue for money if he wants, but that's kinda lame. If anything, this attention increased his mug sales."

Musk has since deleted his response.