Tesla’s premium electric sedan was introduced as the company’s second production vehicle and its first true mass-market luxury model. It arrived as a clean-sheet design, built from the ground up around battery-electric packaging rather than adapted from an internal-combustion platform. Customer deliveries began in 2012, which is the first model year associated with the nameplate. From the start, it established Tesla as a maker of long-range electric cars and helped define the modern luxury EV segment.
The car’s early life centered on a single-body sedan format, but the nameplate has gone through several important eras rather than a full discontinuation. The original launch version was followed by ongoing technical and styling updates, including a major mid-cycle refresh in the mid-2010s that gave the car a cleaner front end and updated cabin and electronics. Later versions continued to push the model toward higher performance and greater refinement, while preserving its role as Tesla’s flagship four-door sedan.
In enthusiast and industry history, the nameplate matters because it moved electric cars from niche curiosity into mainstream premium competition. It paired a long-range battery-electric layout with a large touchscreen-centered interior, over-the-air software updates, and an emphasis on rapid charging infrastructure. The result was a model that became one of the most recognizable EVs of its era and a cornerstone of Tesla’s brand identity.
This nameplate remains in production today, so there is no final model year to record.