Even though Ford hadn’t used it for a production vehicle, the company contended that Model E sounded too similar to the original mass-market hit automobile: the Model T.
“We’re like, ‘Ford’s killing SEX,’” Musk said in 2014. “So, OK, fine we won’t use Model E.”
True to form, Musk found a workaround. The third vehicle in Tesla’s lineup was dubbed the Model 3 — a clever substitute for a backward uppercase letter E. The carmaker subsequently added a sport utility vehicle, the Model Y.
