That’s what the “T” in the logo stands for

VW stands for Volkswagen, BMW for Bavarian Motor Works and the “T” for Tesla – you can imagine. But the Tesla logo has a completely different origin.

Almost invisible in the simple design, it is hidden in the hood: the symbol of the car manufacturer Tesla. At first glance it looks like a future “T”. But unlike T in Toyota or H in Hyundai, the symbol does not stand for the name of the giant company Tesla.

When a Twitter user asked what the “T” in the Tesla logo stood for, Elon Musk replied that it represented a part of an electric motor.

Designer Daniel Fourie explained on the online portal Quora how the Tesla logo can be extracted from the cross section of the electric motor:

In his article, Fourie also points out a small difference. The Tesla logo was not based on the current reciprocating engine, which is usually installed in all of the manufacturer’s cars. Instead, the logo design is based on the cross section of the DC motor.

However, the difference between DC and AC motors as a template is easy to explain. Elon Musk honored inventor Nikolas Tesla by naming him. Among other things, he invented the direct current generator, the cross section of which is also seen in Tesla’s symbol.

With his tweet, Elon Musk also clarified another question: the meaning of the SpaceX logo. X should represent the trajectory of the rocket.

By the way, both Tesla and SpaceX logos were created by the same company (RO Studio).