Tesla CEO Elon Musk released a statement on Thursday, vowing his company would “not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.”
He said that patents hanging on the wall of Tesla headquarters have been taken down, “in the spirit of the open source movement.” He said in the statement that he believes this open-source philosophy will better serve the scientific advancement of electric car technology.
Tesla no longer has the most efficient electric car battery; Breitbart News reported earlier this week that a new “aluminum-air” battery for electric cars that can last up to 1,000 miles was shown off in Montreal by the Israeli and Canadian companies that developed it. For comparison, Tesla’s batteries apparently only last for 300 miles and weigh a heavy 1,100 pounds. The new “aluminum-air” battery weighs approximately 220 pounds.
This could be Tesla’s way of saying they want their competitors to follow suit and “open-source” their own patents. The issue of patent ownership has recently been at the heart of some of the most expensive, hard-fought trials in the technology industry, as Samsung, Apple, and Google have repeatedly sparred with each other over patent ownership rights. In this context, Tesla may want to carefully weigh the impact this decision could have on their bottom line.
Tesla’s stock faltered slightly on Thursday afternoon after the company’s announcement, down .46% at the close of trading.
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