Dumping Motors, Tesla becomes Tesla

Tesla Motors has announced a change of name from Tesla Motors to Tesla. The move comes from a growing sense of being tied down to automobiles, even as it was venturing forth into other markets for the batteries it developed as part of its electric car business.

Tesla is not about vehicles alone, it is also into solar-powered roof tile home battery systems with its acquisition of Solar City Corp, of which founder Elon Musk is a founder.

According Jess Collen, a contributor, Forbes, it also seemed natural to drop ''motors,'' and besides, people were more inclined to refer to the company by its first name, if the second part is a more descriptive term, like ''motors.''

Though Tesla Motors is not alone - Apple Computers and Starbucks coffee are successful examples of a corporate rebranding, this type of name change always comes with an element of risk.

Collen says that unless the business had recognition created by hundreds of billions in value of combined advertising and free media coverage, dropping any part of a name might not be a winning proposition.