Tesla Officially Drops “Motors” From its Name

Tesla Motors has officially dropped the “Motors” from its name. The change was reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission today, Automotive News reports. Tesla already dropped the “motors” from its domain name back in July 2016 following the formation of Tesla Energy and just before CEO Elon Musk began the process of acquiring SolarCity, which was completed in November.

The move mirrors Apple’s decision to drop “Computer” from its name back in 2007, the same year it released its first iPhone. Similarly, Tesla no longer wants to be known as just a car company, but also as a sustainable energy provider. Tesla Energy offers a Powerwall system for both home and industrial use. The system uses a lithium-ion battery pack that can store electricity during off-peak hours to be used when the grid is more taxed, and when power is thus more expensive. The system can also be combined with solar panels, which is where solar city comes in. The solar energy company, which Musk’s cousins run and he himself helped found, is the number-one provider of residential and commercial solar energy systems, according to Tesla. In November, Musk unveiled Tesla’s Solar Roof product line, which integrates solar panels into roof shingles.

Of course, Tesla will still be a car company. The automaker is still targeting production capacity of 500,000 cars a year by 2018. Most of that production would be comprised of Tesla’s upcoming Model 3, a more affordable electric model with a starting price of $35,000 and a range as high as 260 miles.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)

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