Tesla dropped its trademark for the Model E, and the reason was two-fold: It was originally a joke and Ford threatened to sue them. Yes, Ford tried to kill SEX. Bastards.
Speaking at Tesla's 2014 Annual Shareholder Meeting, company co-founder and CEO Elon Musk was asked why the automaker dropped its trademark for the Model E. "Funny story," says Musk.
A friend at a party asked him what the name of the next Tesla would be after the S and X. Musk joked, "the Model E." And the name kinda stuck.
They applied for a trademark on "E", and as another joke, applied for a Model Y (rimshot) trademark.
Ford was apparently not pleased about the "E" filing, and according to Musk, threatened to sue Tesla. It's not entirely clear why, aside from the fact that Ford's seminal models – the Model A and Model T – had a similar naming scheme.
Since then, Tesla has pulled its trademark for the E, with Musk saying today that, "Ford tried to kill sex."
DISCUSSION
Ok...we need more context than this. Great story...but we need to know wtf Ford wanted to sue for Model E?