A Colorado artist is known for his unique unicorn design, and it caught the eye of billionaire businessman Elon Musk.

But what Musk did with that design is now causing a stink.

There is some really unique work in an Evergreen, Colorado pottery studio. But it’s one mug with a gassy unicorn that’s getting a lot of attention–and causing a big stink.

“This is a design I’ve been doing since 2010,” Potter Tom Edwards said.

hat began as a playful poke at electric cars has turned Edwards into an internet sensation.

“OK, this is a natural bodily function,” Edwards explains. “The unicorn is farting into this container and then it’s going through (the) cord and powering the electric car.”

The whimsical creation caught the eye of Musk, the genius behind Tesla motors.

He took to Twitter about the tooter last year.

“He said it was quite possibly his favorite mug ever,” Edwards said.

Tom says the billionaire’s tweet gave him a small boost in sales.

“Well, you know, a farting unicorn is sales magic,” Edwards said.

But a couple months later, Tom got wind that Tesla was using a copy of his bottom-blasting unicorn to promote the cars’ new operating system.

“The straw that broke the camel’s back was at Christmas,” Edwards said. “They sent out a Christmas greeting, and it had my artwork on it.”

So, Tom got a lawyer to reach out to Tesla for compensation.

With no response from the company, Tom’s daughter let it rip on Twitter, firing away at Musk.

“And said ‘Hey, how come you’re not compensating my dad?'” Edwards said.

Before deleting his blows on Twitter, Elon called Tom “kinda lame” if he chose to sue for money, adding he’s who made the mugs popular.

But Musk said he would stop using the unicorn if that’s what Tom wants.

“That’s not the point,” Edwards said. “The point is they’ve already used it and that’s how copyright works.”

Tom says he isn’t sure yet how much his lawyer will seek for compensation.

He just wants to defend his hand-crafted creation.

“Artists really need to protect their work,” Edwards said.

So many people want to now get their hands on one of the colorful mugs that Tom says they’re back ordered until mid-July.

Edwards says the only real solution to this issue is if Tesla Motors gives him the compensation for that artwork.

As for its worth, he says it is hard to establish the value now that Musk has gotten a year’s worth of use out of it.

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