The Telecaster Bass was introduced in May 1968[1] being essentially a straight reissue of the original 1951 Precision Bass design (which was in fact influenced by the Telecaster guitar), with a large pickguard, small Telecaster-shaped headstock, single pickup, and separate chrome control plate.

The earliest had a regular silver Telecaster guitar logo with the word "bass" added underneath.

The third and most commonly used decal had the silver Fender script with the words Telecaster Bass written in a sans-serif type font underneath.

The old-style pickguard was redesigned to eliminate the control plate, and the single-coil pickup was replaced with a larger, more powerful, humbucking unit.

[1] In 2011, Fender reintroduced the model as a part of their Modern Player series, featuring two Modern Player Wide Range Humbucking pickups, three-ply parchment (Sunburst model) or single-ply black (Butterscotch Blonde model) pickguard, three knurled "chrome-dome" control knobs (neck volume, bridge volume, master tone), vintage-style bridge with four brass saddles, open-gear tuners and nickel/chrome hardware.

This model also featured a contoured body with belly and arm cuts, and was based on the '71-'79 Tele Bass.

As a part of the Vintera II series, released in late 2023, the '71-'79 version of the bass was given a straight reissue.

Other features include black "barrel" switch tip, knurled chrome control knobs, vintage style bridge with four chrome saddles, vintage-style tuners and strap buttons and a single-ply white or black pickguard.