Musk recognized that the long-term success of the company hinged on its ability to create a mass-market car that the average consumer would want.
‘Main thing I wanted to be sure of was that our guys know that most American cars suck.’
Elon Musk, internal Tesla email, 2007
That vehicle would be Tesla’s fourth release. The car was originally going to be called the Model E, because Musk liked that Tesla already had models S and X, and the combo would spell “sex.” But when the company discovered Ford held the trademark to Model E, they flipped the E to a 3.
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