In a move that could shock the auto industry, Tesla Motors has decided to open its patent portfolio for use by other firms.
In an effort to speed up the development of electric cars, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk announced that the company will open up its patent portfolio for anyone to use in good faith.
Since its founding in 2003, Tesla Motors, Musk’s second futurist venture, has been pushing the boundaries of what’s come to be expected from an electric car. Packing a 416 HP all-electric engine, Tesla’s Model S can reach top speeds in a flash and doesn’t produce a single whiff of pollution – all without sacrificing on comfort and performance.
While Tesla has been able to transform the idea of an electric car from a plodding, boring auto into a status symbol, Musk’s ambition is much greater than creating a profitable car company.
According to Musk, “Given that annual new vehicle production is approaching 100 million per year and the global fleet is approximately 2 billion cars, it is impossible for Tesla to build electric cars fast enough to address the carbon crisis … By the same token, it means the market is enormous. Our true competition is not the small trickle of non-Tesla electric cars being produced, but rather the enormous flood of gasoline cars pouring out of the world’s factories every day.”
Though Musk’s actions are truly inspiring I wonder if major car companies will begin producing electric cars in the near term. If the Fords and GMs of the world begin to take a long, hard look at electric vehicles they’re likely to realize that there’s a fortune to be made in hydrocarbon-free transportation. What’s even better is that much of the R&D behind building an EV has already been done for them, so profits and performance should come at the cheap.
Hopefully Tesla and Musk’s actions will help motivate the automotive industry. If it does a much cleaner, safer future will be in store for us all.
Image Courtesy of Tesla
