Billionaire Elon Musk in legal battle over of artist's unicorn fart artwork to promote Tesla Motors

The genius behind Tesla Motors is facing a legal battle after Tesla allegedly used one artist's particular tooting design to promote the electric cars' new operating system.

Colorado artist Tom Edwards is known for his unique unicorn design that happened to catch the eye of billionaire businessman Elon Musk.

Edward's mug with a gassy unicorn is a design he says he has been doing since 2010. Now it's getting a lot of attention and causing a big stink.

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

"The unicorn is farting into this container and then it's going through the cord and powering the electric car," Edwards told KCNC.

The whimsical creation caught the eye of Musk, who took to Twitter about the tooter last year.

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

But a couple of months later, Edwards got wind 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 they sent out a Christmas greeting and it had my artwork on it," Edwards said.

At that point, Edwards hired a lawyer to reach out to the electric car company for compensation.

When they did not hear back from the company, Edwards' daughter did not hold back and let it rip on Twitter, firing away at Elon Musk.

Musk didn't stay quiet and before deleting his blows on Twitter, he called Edwards 'kinda lame' if he chooses to sue for money. Musk also said that he made the mugs popular, but would stop using the tooting unicorn if that's what Edwards wants.

Edwards says that's not the point. "The point is they've already used it and that's how copyright works."

Edwards says he is unsure how much his lawyer will seek for compensation, but he just wants to defend his hand-crafted creation.

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.