The premium electric vehicle maker wanted to name its entry-level car Model E.
Ford (F) – Get Ford Motor Company Report has just announced the separation of its electric vehicle (BEV) manufacturing activities from that of the production of internal combustion cars (ICE) or gasoline cars into two separate units.
The reorganization was obvious and expected. Both divisions will be headed by the Ford parent company.
Nothing interesting so far. But wait.
Things are about to take an interesting turn. The electric vehicle division will be called Ford e.
Does that ring a bell? Let’s say it this way: doesn’t it remind you of a competitor? A very noisy and powerful competitor?
Yes, it is Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report we are talking about. Apart from its very first model, the Roadster, the vehicles marketed by Elon Musk’s company had names taken from the alphabet until Ford showed up.
Model S for the luxury sedan, and the Model X for the luxury SUV/crossover.
After the Model X, Tesla wanted to introduce an entry-level vehicle to the market.
“We have the S and the X and then a friend asked me at a party ‘hey what are you going to call the third-generation car?” Musk told CNNMoney in 2014. “Well we’ve got the S and the X so we might as well make it the E.”
‘Ford’s Killing Sex’
But this car will eventually be called Model 3, thus breaking with the letters.
So what went wrong?
When Tesla wanted to register the trademark, the firm encountered unexpected opposition: Ford. The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker blocked the initiative.
We let Musk explain the rest
“Ford gave us a call and said they’re gonna sue us for using Model E. And we’re like, Ford’s killing SEX. I mean, that’s terrible!'” Musk told CNNMoney.
To prevent Tesla from using the letter E, Jim Farley’s company mentioned a 2010 agreement between the two companies according to which Tesla could not use the letter E as the name of vehicles, reported Automotive News.
Ford then explained that there was a risk of confusion between Model E and its iconic Model T vehicle, a mass marketed car introduced in 1908.
The Ford Model T was a small, lightweight vehicle that dominated sales in America until 1927. The Model T was initially offered as a touring car, a Tourabout and a Runabout.
Nicknamed the “Tin Lizzie,” the Model T had seating room for five people and had low, trim body lines.
The price for a Model T Touring vehicle was $290 or $580 for the Tudor sedan.
Drivers at the time could also enroll in a program called the “Ford Weekly Purchase Plan,” where the customer could make a deposit of five dollars at many authorized Ford Dealers across America to purchase a new Ford Model T.
The Model T made Ford Motor Company into an industrial powerhouse.
After 19 years and more than 15 million vehicles, production ended on the Model T on May 26, 1927.
It was named the most influential car of the 20th century.
After the Model 3, Tesla developed another vehicle, an SUV, which the company called Model Y.
So it was back to letters, but not for long: The two future vehicles of the Austin-based company in the Texas are called Semi and Cybertruck.
