In a move that has been widely expected, Elon Musk has announced that Tesla will allow car makers free access to its electric car patents to promote EV sales.
Elon Musk (pictured) opens up Tesla’s EV patents to all.
When we reported earlier this week that the Tesla Model S has launched in the UK, we also reported that it seemed Tesla were planning to free up its electric car technology patents to encourage a more rapid roll-out of EVs. And that’s exactly what’s happening.
Tesla hasn’t gone as far as actually relinquishing its patents, but Musk says “Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology”. Which is an interesting move.
It’s also a move that’s easier for a man who’s made his money already and is focusing on his place in history; Elon Musk appears to want to be the man who is remembered for making the electric car market viable by giving away his technology for free.
That said, Musk also has a point when he talks about the problem of patents. He said:
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.
How much impact the removal of the threat of legal action for using Tesla’s patents will have on the all but stalled EV market is hard to judge.
But it’s a brave move, from an already rich man, to set a marker in history and ignite the BEV market
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