Here's How Much It Cost Elon Musk To Buy The Tesla Brand Name
Tesla is the most valuable car company in the world in 2022 even though it hasn't been in the industry as long as traditional automakers like Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, General Motors, and Ford. It was officially registered as a company in 2003 by Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard. Back then, it was known as "Tesla Motors." Elon Musk later joined the company in 2004 as its chairman, and he came in with a "master plan" that would revolutionize electric vehicles.
But Tesla's success story didn't come without bumps on the road. It almost went under during the 2008 recession, and Elon Musk was desperate enough to contact Apple's Tim Cook with an acquisition offer. Fortunately, it was rescued by way of loans and capital from investors. As the company expanded, it also ventured into making solar panels and lithium backup batteries. Since the company's objective isn't just to resonate with electric cars but also to develop green energy technology, it changed its name from Tesla Motors to Tesla Inc.
Now, the Tesla brand is synonymous with electric vehicles — but it could have been known by a different name if it didn't acquire the rights to its company name.
Tesla bought its name for $75,000
In 2018, Musk told Lesley Stahl on "60 Minutes" that Tesla didn't initially own the right to its name. "We didn't actually come up with the Tesla Motors name. Bought trademark off Brad Siewert for $75k in late 2004. He'd originally filed for it in 1994. Our alternative name was Faraday, which was used by a competitor several years later," Tesla's CEO also tweeted shortly after the interview went on air.
Ironically, even though Tesla was named after Nikola Tesla, Musk is on record saying that he's "a bigger fan of Edison than Tesla" (via Big Think). However, Musk acknowledges that Tesla's AC motors are based on the design of Nikola Tesla — the engineer who invented the AC motor. Nikola, another electric vehicle manufacturer founded in 2014, was also named after Nikola Tesla — but the company is shrouded in controversy. Even more interestingly, Faraday, the alternative name the founders of Tesla opted for if they couldn't secure the rights to Tesla, is a separate EV company that could give Tesla a run for its money in the future.