Tesla Motors changed its corporate name to Tesla, Inc. in 2017.
The name change reflected Tesla’s expanding business beyond electric cars. The company had begun with a focus on battery-powered vehicles, but it was also developing energy-storage products, solar-energy systems, and related technologies. Removing “Motors” made the corporate name broader and better suited to those activities.
Tesla announced the change in February 2017, several months after completing its acquisition of SolarCity. The company’s stock ticker remained TSLA, so the change did not represent a new public listing or a change in ownership structure. Tesla Motors had used its earlier name since the company was founded in 2003.
A common mix-up is confusing the corporate renaming with the launch of a new vehicle. The Model 3 was unveiled in 2016, before the official name change, while Tesla’s energy products had already become part of its business. The rebranding therefore described a wider strategy rather than a particular car.