Modular building techniques were used to construct the school due to permitting and time restrictions.

The majority of the building was fabricated offsite, with four sections, including the common area, built on site.

[12] In 2021 and 2022, Tesla STEM won the Washington Sea Grant's Orca bowl, a marine science competition.

[20] The school's course offerings and overall academic approach are focused on emphasizing the four STEM fields: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

[22] In principle, the school's curriculum is designed such that ninth and tenth grade focus on foundation: building skills such as understanding and applying the engineering design process, collaboratively working in a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) environment, as well as other critical thinking aspects.

Eleventh and twelfth grade students focus on application: selecting a concentration of study and conducting independent research.

Eleventh graders are given the choice between selecting two signature labs: Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Design, or AP Psychology and Forensics.