Tesla's mysterious new logo design has sparked some surprising theories

Ah, the Tesla Roadster 2. The long-promised second-generation of the electric sports car has become a bit of a running gag. CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla was working on it almost a decade ago in 2017. He initially spoke of a 2020 release and said the base model would be the first car to go from 0 to 60 mph in under 2 seconds.

Since then, Elon's upped the specs, claiming 0 to 60 mph per second, but there's still no car. In March, he said the new Roadster would be unveiled "probably in late April". That didn't happen, but Tesla has submitted a trademark application for a new Roadster logo design, and that's been enough to spark a flurry of speculation.

Submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) at the end of April, the application for the new Tesla Roadster logo says the design will be used for electric vehicles, EV batteries, charging equipment and clothing.

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The badge is very different from the existing Tesla logo. It consists of an elongated hexagonal shield with a series of four short vertical lines at the bottom. It's angular, aggressive even, resembling the head of a cobra or praying mantis, or, if you prefer, the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.

This hardness makes the design feel more Cybertruck than luxury sport car. The Roadster name appears towards the top of the shield in an all-caps slanting typeface that has a retro futuristic vibe that feels like it's come from a video game.

Two other applications filed in February show a Roadster wordmark in the same font along with a minimalist abstract silhouette of a sports car.

The company has some history when it comes to cryptic logo design. Despite looking like an IUD, the main Tesla logo is supposed to represent part of the cross-section of an electric motor. This has led many Tesla fans to see the new design as a code to be cracked – "those four lines at the bottom can't be random," one person insists on X.

Tesla does actually address those lines in its USPTO filing, in which it says they represent “speed, propulsion, heat or wind”. But some people are convinced that there's more to it.

The logo "likely points to Tesla’s patented aerodynamic system using 4 fans to generate downforce, combined with deployable skirts and a vacuum effect," one person thinks. The shape "looks very similar to Starship V3’s QD receptacle panel," someone else notes, referring to a port SpaceX uses to deliver power to the booster until liftoff.

Some people are sure they have the symbol worked out.

"Pretty sure it's an upside down rocket booster, to create downforce instead of lifts," one person says with conviction. But someone else reckons it's a heat shield tile. ”The Roadster is going to be fully reusable!" they reckon.

"Clearly the Roadster will have methalox thrusters and be fueled via custom RQD’s A Raptor 3 strapped to a Roadster gives you 100 Gs of acceleration 0-60 of 0.05 seconds Almost instant blackout then death," someone else says, possibly joking.

Others see the flux capacitor from Back to the Future, Marvel comics' The Punisher logo or, er... a fly swat or a flea comb... Well, Tesla did once sell a cat scratch tray.

Some of these Roadster logo design theories do have a basis if not in fact then at least in Muskian fantasy. Elon has claimed that the car will be offered with a SpaceX package comprising 10 small rocket thrusters that could allow it to briefly hover to overcome traction limitations. It's perhaps worth remembering that this is the CEO who said the Cybertruck would be able to "serve briefly as a boat". In the end, the electric pickup appeared to struggle with wind, mud and snow.

While some suggest Tesla should have more to show than a logo after almost ten years of development, it is interesting that the company has decided to create bespoke Roadster branding. The first-gen car, released in 2008, sported the standard Tesla badge. Giving the next model its own shows that Tesla wants to differentiate the product.

That could be because the Roadster will be a genuinely revolutionary vehicle unlike anything that's come before. Or it could be a recognition that Tesla's own brand reputation has become too negative after the Cybertruck debacle and Elon's political controversies.