Tesla Motors Open-sources Their Patents (OT)

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MisterE

climber
Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 13, 2014 - 07:14am PT
Bold and forward-thinking move!

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you



Yesterday, there was a wall of Tesla patents in the lobby of our Palo Alto headquarters. That is no longer the case. They have been removed, in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology.

Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport. If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal. Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.

When I started out with my first company, Zip2, I thought patents were a good thing and worked hard to obtain them. And maybe they were good long ago, but too often these days they serve merely to stifle progress, entrench the positions of giant corporations and enrich those in the legal profession, rather than the actual inventors. After Zip2, when I realized that receiving a patent really just meant that you bought a lottery ticket to a lawsuit, I avoided them whenever possible.

At Tesla, however, we felt compelled to create patents out of concern that the big car companies would copy our technology and then use their massive manufacturing, sales and marketing power to overwhelm Tesla. We couldn’t have been more wrong. The unfortunate reality is the opposite: electric car programs (or programs for any vehicle that doesn’t burn hydrocarbons) at the major manufacturers are small to non-existent, constituting an average of far less than 1% of their total vehicle sales.

At best, the large automakers are producing electric cars with limited range in limited volume. Some produce no zero emission cars at all.

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.

We believe that Tesla, other companies making electric cars, and the world would all benefit from a common, rapidly-evolving technology platform.

Technology leadership is not defined by patents, which history has repeatedly shown to be small protection indeed against a determined competitor, but rather by the ability of a company to attract and motivate the world’s most talented engineers. We believe that applying the open source philosophy to our patents will strengthen rather than diminish Tesla’s position in this regard.
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Jun 13, 2014 - 10:26am PT
MSRP = $70k+

Sustainable technology. Just dump the waste batteries in your backyard by the veggie garden.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Jun 13, 2014 - 01:09pm PT
Elon's at least heading in the right direction. His heart is in the right place. His ducks are in rows. His bank account's stuffed, too, no doubt.

Great inventions that I would like to see open-sourced include Play-Doh.

It could be the next Kevlar if it's done properly. Think of the lives it could save.


According­ to the current Play-Doh patent (U.S. Patent 6,713,624), the compound is essentially a starch-based binder mixed with water, salt, lubricant and preservative. The doh! is made of:
Water
Starch-based binder
Retrogradation inhibitor
Salt
Lubricant
Surfactant
Preservative
Hardener
Humectant
Fragrance
Color
Each of these ingredients has an effect on the compound's texture, fragrance and appearance. One of the major contributors to the softness and texture of Play-Doh compound is the interaction between its two primary ingredients - starch-based binder and water.

Great subconsiousnesses think alike, DMT.

Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll,
Roll another one...just like the other one...

Brandon-

climber
The Granite State.
Jun 13, 2014 - 02:50pm PT
Mouse, what you're calling for is simply a little feat in the grand scheme of things.
Chewybacca

Trad climber
Montana, Whitefish
Jun 13, 2014 - 03:04pm PT
@Johntp, why would you dump the used batteries? Almost every part of the battery is recyclable and valuable.

Besides, organic compost is much better for veggie gardens.
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
Jun 13, 2014 - 03:27pm PT
Tactical and very forward thinking!

The market for electric needs to grow, the infrastructure to charge needs to grow, and it won't happen unless the majority of the market supports that general direction.
couchmaster

climber
Jun 13, 2014 - 04:31pm PT
Interesting and inovative move.
wilbeer

Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
Jun 13, 2014 - 04:42pm PT
I am a believer,I have read where he wants to make an all electric car that would be in the price range of a focus/jetta/cruise/etc.That will be a game changer.
I have also read that a solar carport is in the works by Solarcity.

Charging stations will be the biggest hurdle.

A very smart move ,Electric suppliers are taking a good look at this.

edit;Roll em' Easy

john hansen

climber
Jun 16, 2014 - 07:13pm PT
Up 8.8 percent today.

Moosedrool must be happy :).
T?S

Trad climber
Reno, NV
Jun 17, 2014 - 08:02am PT
Thanks for the solarcity info! looks really interesting. wish I thought of that idea. genius. Tesla is the future of consumer transportation, unless big oil and other auto manufacturers can destroy them somehow. And by destroy i don't mean through competition, I mean by pure evil.

Have you guys read about the Tesla Supercharge stations? 40 minutes for a full charge totally free, and they are claiming 99% coverage of america by 2015.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jun 17, 2014 - 08:35am PT
A nice PR move that means some naif could bolster Elon's coffers by giving him another idea.

It's the batteries that are the problem and I still maintain that electric cars are more polluting
because of the batteries.
nature

climber
Boulder, CO
Jun 17, 2014 - 08:44am PT
uh oh... i better get me a shovel.
wilbeer

Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
Jun 18, 2014 - 02:13pm PT
Reilly there are a billion cars in this world and all of them have batteries.

How come those are not a "problem"?


In his own words;http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/elon-musk-talks-tesla-and-climate-change-283249731810
pyro

Big Wall climber
Calabasas
Jun 18, 2014 - 02:21pm PT
Oh good!

FUTURE START UP ABOUT TO HAPPEN!

PENNY STOCK!!!
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jun 18, 2014 - 02:36pm PT
wilbeer, they are, of course, but they're 1/50th the size of an e-car battery.
A heavyweight in the e-car business agrees with me.
wilbeer

Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
Jun 18, 2014 - 02:39pm PT
Tell him to try MATH.

1 Billion regular cars.

<than 1 million e cars.

edit;highly recyclable,everything but the labels

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jun 18, 2014 - 10:20pm PT
Tell him to try MATH.

HaHaHaHa! You tell a dood with multiple degrees from CalTech who has
designed the electric car systems for Toyota, VW, and a number of other
majors that he needs to do some math.
wilbeer

Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
Jun 19, 2014 - 04:57am PT
Not to argue,but I think I just did.


What does "the heavyweight" say about 1 billion FF burning autos?

Just Curious.



http://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/01/electric-vehicle-wedge-electric-vehicles-vs-gasoline-cars-country-car/
MisterE

climber
Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2014 - 06:11am PT
That Climate change link was great! Thanks!
wilbeer

Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
Jun 19, 2014 - 08:48am PT
Hopeful, and concerned.



The reason I said MATH is; We will take reilly's modest quote of 1/50th the size .
1 billion divided by 50 = 20 million.That is the amount of battery in regular cars equal to the size of a e car.

Less than 1 million e cars,they have a lot of catching up ,just to become equivalent and if they did,I doubt a catastrophe.[Still only 1/50th of FF cars]

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