Creating the perfect car is a challenging task, what with all the critical details like excellent handling, reliability, good fuel mileage, adequate driver comfort, tilt & telescopic steering, and so on. However, creating the perfect automobile logo can be equally difficult, as it is what makes the brand stand out from the others. Tesla Motor, the famous American car brand, has a brand identity that’s as attractive and persuasive as its car models. Unique, memorable, and futuristic, the Tesla logo is a graphic masterpiece in the automobile industry.
Even though the company is merely 18 years old, and one can see only a few Tesla cars around, the logo is easily recognizable across the world. Such is the power of a professional logo. Below, let’s take a look at the evolution of the Tesla logo and the meaning behind it.
The Tesla Logo and its True Meaning
The Tesla logo, as we see today, is more than what meets the eye. A unique rendition of the letter “T”, it is a white emblem on a black or red background. Created by the RO Studio, the logo was initially designed to fit within a shield, but the company eventually omitted the shield and chose to go only with the “T”.
According to a recent tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, what looks like a basic stylized “T” is in fact a reference to the brand’s products. In his words, “the T is like a cross section of an electric motor, just as the X is like a rocket trajectory”. Musk seemed to refer to the vertical line of the “T” as one of the poles that extend out of a motor’s rotor, and the horizontal line as a section of the stator.
The Tesla logo was purposely designed to make the concept of electric motors popular at the global level. The main objective was to make the electric motor accessible to the common people by facilitating the electricity connection. In 1882, Nikola Tesla, a genius inventor and scientist, came up with his unique invention – an AC motor. T
Today, this device, although improvised, is an integral part of Tesla Roadsters cars. The Tesla logo unambiguously hints at its electrical origin. Although the emblem apparently looks like the first capital letter of the brand name, it is indeed a part of the electric motor.
Although the most widely known meanings of the Tesla logo are the stylized letter “T”, the shield (depicting safety), and the AC motor, there is another interesting secret behind the popular emblem.
The Tesla logo represents a cat’s nose, and this concept was confirmed by Elon Musk, the head of the company, himself. The cat is an intuitive animal, full of mystery and wisdom. And a lot of people will agree to the fact that the company has reached its height of success due to the incredibly profound intuition of its proprietor. The cat’s nose is also a strong indicator of its owner’s mood and well-being. Tesla leaves no stone unturned to ensure that every single aspect of the car and its work process goes in favour of driver’s safety, comfort, and satisfaction.
The first version of the logo not only featured a T-shaped emblem but also a triangular shield. The T was right in the centre, with the brand name beneath. There was a white shield in the backdrop that gave the logo a contained shape. The shield is no longer present in the final version, and the word mark is placed below. The Tesla logo design has never changed since then.
Fact Corner – Here’s a small interesting fact about the history of Tesla. Elon Musk was nowhere during the launch of the company. Tesla was the brainchild of two stakeholders, Martin Eberhard and Mark Tarpenning, and it was launched on July 1, 2003. Musk joined Tesla a couple of months later, after investing a whopping $6.5 million. And this was a changing point for the company. Musk took over as the head of Tesla, and it was under his proprietorship that the company became one of the leading and most expensive car brands in the world. |
Tesla Cybertruck Logo (2019-present)
Designed to have the utility of a truck with sports car performance, the all-electric automobile was launched by Tesla in 2019. The vehicle was introduced under a quirky-themed “Cybertruck” logo, and a new copyright request was filed for the graffiti emblem at the same time.
Tesla Logo – Font and Color Scheme
Font
The font is one of the most key features of the Tesla logo. The designer ditched the typical, ordinary font for a customized one. Crafted by an American designer named Dies, the logo is equally popular as the brand and its products due to its uniqueness. Aside from some techno and fancy elements, the logo also features a sci-fi vibe.
Coming to the font part, the wordmark goes in a sans-serif typeface with a contemporary, geometric twist. It showcases a sturdy and confident look with neat lines, perfect proportions, and bold strokes in each character. The font design is inspired by the company’s workflow, focusing chiefly on tech advancements and futurism. This also indicates a special era, as that of the Spiderman, space movies, etc.
Color
The Tesla badge mainly features a black and silver palette. These colors typically represent class, harmony, elegance, creativity, and innovation. Since these colors are easy to adjust and experiment with, it is easy to add or subtract one shade. Tesla chose to add red, which possibly represents their love and dedication towards electric cars.
Popularity of the Tesla Logo
A company logo is undoubtedly the first visual illustration of a brand’s identity for the audience. A well-designed logo is both an assurance of quality and a perfect embodiment of the brand’s objectives. While some companies do this using a basic logo design, for example Nike, Ford, and Apple, others take a unique approach to make their logo look a little bold, empowering, and perhaps a little mysterious. And Tesla has certainly managed to make its mark in the automobile industry with its unique and inquisitive logo design.
Although Tesla electric cars have a nominal share of cars on the road, almost everyone can instantly identify the Tesla Logo. Since the brand symbol has an element of ambiguity to it, people often think it to be mysterious and futuristic – an icon for the future of energy-efficient transportation. So, that was all about the Tesla logo, its evolution, significance, and popularity. For more such brand logos with hidden meanings, look here.
Head of Design at DesignBro and is responsible for UI/UX Design, managing the global designer community, and ensuring quality levels of both designers and designs remain high.
