Choosing a Tesla Name for your new all-electric lover is a bit harder than you might think.
Many (but not all) Tesla owners are finding the perfect names for their Teslas, but inspiration seems to come from all over.
Key Takeaways:
While it’s still popular to name your Tesla for innovative electric-powered design or for the company’s meteoric rise, people are devising all sorts of clever names for their Teslas.
Pop culture names are still big–but there’s a huge range of references out there today!
Read on for all the biggest ideas in Tesla names these days to get some ideas for your new Tesla when it arrives.
To Name or Not To Name a Tesla?
Yes, many Tesla owners love the idea of coming up with a clever name for their Tesla, and spend those many months of waiting for delivery coming up with just the right thing.
But that doesn’t mean you have to. Many owners state they have no interest in naming the car–and that’s fine too.
But if you want to come up with the perfect name to distinguish your car–or if you have more than one Tesla and want to assign them different personalities–you can choose names from a huge range of categories.
Pop Culture Names for Teslas
It isn’t really surprising that pop culture names for Teslas are so popular, considering that Musk himself is a lover of pop culture references.
Put “42” in your name field and see what happens. (You can also try Patsy, Rabbit of Caerbannog, Mr. Creosote, or Biggus Dicku.)
Of course, we are all into different pop cultures. You may want to choose something everyone will get, or pick something more esoteric that only a few people understand.
Here are some recent pop culture name ideas:
- Carman Electra
- Ziggy (after the computer in Quantum Leap)
- Volt-emort
- Voltron
- Jarvis
- Epona (horse in Zelda)
- Eve (for the robot in Wall-E)
- The Tardis (especially for blue model Y, which reddit Background-Reveal-92 claims is bigger on the inside).
- Balerion (Game of Thrones)
- Q (James Bond)
- Toothless the Dragon
- Artax (Neverending Story)
- Optimusk Prime
Sneakinhysteria on reddit went with Smurvette. It made sense because the car was made in USA and fast like a Corvette, but blue and white like a smurf.
Hence, Smurvette. On the other hand, their MXP is all black, so it was named Supermassive Black Hole after a song by their favorite band, Muse.
Simpsons references are big. Canyonero on teslamotorsclub went with Canyonero and has the horn play the song. Not bad for an original name and feature.
Or sweating_bullets on Reddit went with Milhouse Van Houten for the Blue M3LR.
Just pick something you like, that makes you happy and that you will remember.
Reddit’s Chrisduchateau went with Zero (the dog from Nightmare Before Christmas)
Techy Tesla Historical Names
Some of the earliest (and most popular) Tesla names come from this category, which is still big and people are coming with even more original ideas.
Some popular ideas, both new and old:
- Joules
- Wattney
- Nikola
- Wattsun
- Aphrodit-E
Attax on Reddit went with Apollo, because the car feels like a spaceship.
Or maybe something completely unusual, like i-s on SpeakEV named it Vilma: “It’s a bit convoluted…. but named for Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy.
She was an artist and the only one ever to paint Nikola Tesla’s portrait. This portrait was done using one of Tesla’s lamps, and is referred to as the ‘Blue Portrait’.”
Tesla Names By Color
Many Tesla owners like to highlight the color of their Tesla, especially if they own more than one. Some popular recent ideas:
Black Tesla Names
- Rav3n
- Vad3r
- Threat Level Midnight
- Kitt
- Nightshade
- Balerion
- Nightwing
- Storm
- Black Panther
- Toothless
- Batmobile
- Black Hole
Grey Tesla Names
- Grey Ghost
- Ghost
- Grey Wind
- Jaws
- Twilight
- Smoke
- Graphyte
White Tesla Names
- Moby D
- Zero
- Pretty Fly for a White Y
- Moon
- Eve
- Falkor
- Pearl
- Walter WhYte
- Cloud
- Light FurY
- Snow White
Blue Tesla Names
- Oc3an
- Milhouse Van Houten
- Blue Comet
- Tardis
- Sonic
- Forward Unto Dawn
- Blue Moon
- Blue AF
Red Tesla Names
- RosY
- Aphrodit-E
- Iron Man
- Red Dragon
- Redshift
- Red Queen
Tesla Names by Model
It isn’t too hard to sneak your model into your name. Have a Model 3? How about T3PO? TessY is also a popular choice.
Or combine both color and model like karsultation on reddit: Pretty Fly for a White Y
Personal Names for Teslas
It seems like many Tesla owners are moving away from the more obvious names and opting for names that are more personal to them, or that have a story attached.
Yes, passengers in your Tesla won’t know the story, but it will be special to you.
For example, Key_Ad9961 on Reddit named their Tesla Voyager II “after a boat I was on the day I met my adopted sister.”
Have a special day in your life that you want to remember? Might be a good place to mine for names.
Other Tesla Name Ideas
Maybe you just pick something based on the license plate number. According to Phooby on SpeakEV, their Tesla is named Alfonzo to match “AFO” on the license plate.
Want something funny? Many owners thought about the name Tulsa. Or how about Tesla McTeslaFace?
(Owners seem divided on whether it’s a good idea to let your kids name your Tesla.)
FAQ
How Do I Set the Name in My Tesla?
You can change the name in the About Your Tesla page on the touchscreen. Tap on the blue text on the screen to bring up a keypad to type in the new name. You can change the name as often as you like.
In a model 3 , X, or Y, you can find the About your Tesla page by tapping the middle of the Tesla “T” and identifying your model type OR tap on the car icon main menu and then tap “software” and tap the name to change.
For model S, press the Arrow button on the toolbar and tap on “Name Your Vehicle.”
Conclusion
People have been naming their cars for years. For some, a car is part of the family. Cars know our inside jokes and also know most of our stories.
Of course, you don’t have to name your Tesla, though it’s kind of a cool feature that you can “officially” name a car these days.
