In an unprecedented move, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that he will be opening up all of Tesla's patents for others to use to replicate the technology.
Writing on Tesla's official website, Musk revealed that he no longer believes that patents are serving the purpose for which they were made. Today, instead of incentivizing innovation, they are merely hurting competition which is making it harder for the market to move forward. The electric car industry is a great example of this, as many car manufacturers have barely, if at all, ventured into this field. Tesla is far ahead of any of the competition in terms of their technology, and is as such, the only car manufacturer to have made a really successful electric car (with a few exceptions).
Musk makes another important point. Electric cars need to be an important part of the future, if something is to be done about the global climate crisis. Oil and gas powered vehicles are fundamentally problematic for the environment, but until the large car manufacturers -- GM, Toyota, Ford, Honda, etc -- make significant steps to transform their fleets into battery-powered vehicles, we will not see a significant reduction in carbon emissions. By opening up his technologies to the entire world, Mr. Musk has made a statement that saving the environment is more important to him and to his company than making money off the competitive advantage that Tesla's patents afford them.
I hope that other inventors will take this as an example of how to create innovation. Mr. Musk's open-mindedness and care for the entire world is something that all inventors need to have -- because ultimately, creating new products should be about helping the world, not about making money. I believe the patent approval process has become all about making more money, not what it should be about, and this move is indicative that Elon Musk feels that way too.
Source: http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you
Writing on Tesla's official website, Musk revealed that he no longer believes that patents are serving the purpose for which they were made. Today, instead of incentivizing innovation, they are merely hurting competition which is making it harder for the market to move forward. The electric car industry is a great example of this, as many car manufacturers have barely, if at all, ventured into this field. Tesla is far ahead of any of the competition in terms of their technology, and is as such, the only car manufacturer to have made a really successful electric car (with a few exceptions).
Musk makes another important point. Electric cars need to be an important part of the future, if something is to be done about the global climate crisis. Oil and gas powered vehicles are fundamentally problematic for the environment, but until the large car manufacturers -- GM, Toyota, Ford, Honda, etc -- make significant steps to transform their fleets into battery-powered vehicles, we will not see a significant reduction in carbon emissions. By opening up his technologies to the entire world, Mr. Musk has made a statement that saving the environment is more important to him and to his company than making money off the competitive advantage that Tesla's patents afford them.
I hope that other inventors will take this as an example of how to create innovation. Mr. Musk's open-mindedness and care for the entire world is something that all inventors need to have -- because ultimately, creating new products should be about helping the world, not about making money. I believe the patent approval process has become all about making more money, not what it should be about, and this move is indicative that Elon Musk feels that way too.
Source: http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you
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