Tesla drops ‘Motors’ from name in company rebrand

February 2, 2017
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

The change reflects the moves that CEO Elon Musk has made in the last year to combine his clean energy efforts. Beyond electric cars, Tesla already also makes home batteries and solar roofs. Source: Tesla
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle and energy storage company Tesla has officially changed its name from ‘Tesla Motors’ to ‘Tesla Inc’ according to a new regulatory filing.

The change is indicative of a rebrand from a primary focus on the company’s signature electric vehicles, to a shift to clean energy solutions as a whole.

The process began in July when Musk released the sequel to his ‘Master Plan’, highlighting the SolarCity acquisition as the catalyst for Tesla moving into a realm of sustainability projects, and not least the plan to put solar on every roof and a battery in every American garage.

After 13 years as Tesla Motors, the change is official with the company website URL already amended, and the unveiling of the largest Tesla Powerpack station in the world happening in California just days before the news broke.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

24 March 2026
Dallas, Texas
The Energy Storage Summit USA is the only place where you are guaranteed to meet all the most important investors, developers, IPPs, RTOs and ISOs, policymakers, utilities, energy buyers, service providers, consultancies and technology providers in one room, to ensure that your deals get done as efficiently as possible. Book your ticket today to join us in 2026!

Read Next

January 28, 2026
US sodium-ion (Na-ion) battery technology company Unigrid has begun international shipments of its proprietary sodium cobalt oxide (NCO) cathode cells at commercial volume.
January 28, 2026
Utility company Avista has selected projects as part of its request for proposal (RFP) process to identify new resources, including a 100MW battery energy storage system (BESS), for the Pacific Northwest, US.
January 27, 2026
Three energy storage projects have reached key milestones, including pumped hydro, thermal storage, and geothermal alternatives to battery energy storage systems (BESS).
Premium
January 22, 2026
Foreign entity of concern (FEOC) restrictions and the scheduled Section 301 tariff increase to 25% on Chinese-origin battery energy storage systems (BESS) went into effect on 1 January 2026.
January 21, 2026
Virginia’s recently proposed legislation to significantly increase energy storage requirements coincides with unprecedented electricity demand growth in the state, largely driven by data centres.