Tesla Motors turns all its patents over to the open source movement

Ah clever you are Tesla Motors.

This is great, much like the modding community for software, there are many hardware guys that would love to take a crack at this kind of innovation.

Source

Electric carmaker Tesla announced Thursday it was giving up its patents to “the open source movement” to help spur electric vehicle technology.

The unusual move comes with Tesla enjoying huge success, but against a backdrop of multiplying legal squabbles among technology firms over patents.

“All our patents belong to you,” Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said in a blog post.

“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.”

Musk, an entrepreneur who made a fortune with the PayPal online payment service and also heads the space travel firm Space X, said he does not want patents to halt growth of an important environmental technology.

Who knows what will come out of this in a few years time.

~Tenth

The question is, what will happen with any technology developed as a result of this gesture? Will such technology continue to be open source, or will it be snapped up by the private sector as soon as they catch a whiff of potential profit?

Thought they are owned by Toyota.

a reply to: AfterInfinity

Part of using open source stuff is that it must remain open source. You could certainly try to apply for a patent, but if your tech is based on that open source tech, you're crap out of luck in most cases.

That's why the open source market is so vitally important, and hardly ever used by companies at all.

~Tenth

Well look at that.. Teslas legacy and values being carried forward by, you guessed it... Tesla motors.

a reply to: tothetenthpower

I like this Elon Musk guy. He has a strange name which seems made up but no matter.

He is the only guy heading a company that makes me feel optimistic about the future of technology.

I read numerous headlines over the past few years that made me really want him to succeed.

This latest act makes me like him a little more.

a reply to: AfterInfinity
You can release technology under the something like the GPL. Basically, you must make all derivatives patent free.

a reply to: Threegirls

haha I've thought of that name being made up as well and always giggle when I say it.

It is very nice to have a company that seems to be taking a moral stance with it's work.

~Tenth

It is truly unfortunate, in light of this release, that all of the components that really make their vehicles feasible, relative to an ICE vehicle) are patented by their suppliers.

It is nice that I can build a dual hinge door without permissions...but, I want the damn motor, the cells, and the controllers...

originally posted by: tothetenthpower
a reply to: AfterInfinity

Part of using open source stuff is that it must remain open source. You could certainly try to apply for a patent, but if your tech is based on that open source tech, you're crap out of luck in most cases.

That's why the open source market is so vitally important, and hardly ever used by companies at all.

~Tenth

Cool stuff. And no legal red tape for people attempting to establish open source products? Particularly if said products are derived from Tesla-related technology?

Kudos to Elon Musk!!!

He really thinks about humanity. I have a great sympathy for the human being in him.

a reply to: AfterInfinity

Correct as long as they don't touch the components that are actually patented by their manufacturers, you can pretty much do as you please and never have to worry legally.

Unless you try to patent your own stuff based on their stuff as I mentioned earlier.

`Tenth

originally posted by: tothetenthpower
a reply to: AfterInfinity

Correct as long as they don't touch the components that are actually patented by their manufacturers, you can pretty much do as you please and never have to worry legally.

Unless you try to patent your own stuff based on their stuff as I mentioned earlier.

`Tenth

Awesome! Then this really is a huge step forward for the open source market. Can't wait to see what comes of it. I just hope their horizons aren't restricted to electric vehicles.

The patents system is nothing but a detriment to humankind and all patents that are over 10 years old should be made open source. The reason being anyone can come up with the most amazing invention ever made that would change the world, patent it and never allow it to come to production.

Set a time limit in which the original patent designer can profit from his invention but after that limit it becomes public property and anyone is free to use it.

Doing something like this would change the world IMO.

What an epic move.

I would think that all those "legal battles" over patents will now be thrown out.

Profiteers are probably losing their minds over this move.

Am excited to see how average people will improve on this technology. Theres a lot of untapped ingenuity out there.

Considering that this comes on the heels about China moving into the American Electric Car business makes me wonder .Not saying there is a relation to this but I think it's peculiar , especially the timing .

Uhm, I have a hard time believing that they are releasing the patents for the betterment of mankind when it involves a corporation. Especially since it appears that it would go against the best interest of its stock holders.

Knowing how companies,lobbyist, and special interest groups work, I say this is the marketing depicted angle of what its true intentions are .

What does Tesla or better yet the board of directors of the stock gain monetary wise by doing this?

Is tesla expanding to other services were it stands to benefit from the sales of parts for its patents?

Are the board of directors leaving Tesla to another private company and using the gov't subsidized patents for free in their new company while having a jump start into the technology?

Is the technology really not that good and they want others to jump on it while they pursue a better technology?

Based on history I have a hard time believing anything gov't or corporations say as their real intentions.

a reply to: interupt42

I know it's hard to believe but there are large investors who are focusing on the green market industry because they see it as the future and so are investing in it now. I watched a video of one of these investors who had funded quite a few green projects including some failed ones like the Segway and was explaining why they invest in this market.

I can also guarantee that they have more than doubled their money before they released their patents seeing how costly their car was, so why not release the patents and move on to something else.

I have just as much distrust in corporations and their intentions as you.
I also feel that the world is changing rapidly and that a shift of consciousness is happening and it's a shift towards good.
So I remain positive that this was done for the right reasons but I am not naive and know that I may be wrong.

a reply to: tothetenthpower

Good news, and good for Musk.

The world needs MUCH more of this kind of altruism, but this is a great start.

originally posted by: AfterInfinity
I just hope their horizons aren't restricted to electric vehicles.

It wont be, some of these people are finally listening to sound advice. Though, there are still plenty of arenas that are not.

This happening on a broad scale would lead to a massive jump in applied technologies and the understanding gained from them.

For better or worse will be determined by humanity itself.