Currently reading: Tesla scraps technology patents to boost electric vehicle growth
Chief executive Elon Musk has welcomed other car manufacturers to share his firm's expertise in their own electric vehicles

Tesla has taken the unusual step of scrapping its technology patents and so welcoming other car makers to share its know-how without fear of legal action, the company has announced.

Writing on the company’s website CEO Elon Musk said: "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 wants to use our technology."

Tesla’s boss is known to be an enthusiast for the world to adopt electric propulsion and sees his company as a catalyst for change and wants to speed up the process.

Speaking to Autocar earlier this week he said: "There's a long way to go with electric cars. Out of 95 million cars per year, we sell 35,000. Globally everyone has work to do for one per cent of cars to be electric."

He also revealed his frustration at how larger and more established car companies have been slow to move away from traditional propulsion technologies.

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4rephill 15 June 2014

Higher electric bills?

Everybody is talking about electric vehicles as though it's some sort of Utopia scenario with no downsides, but has no-one actually worked out that the reality is that everybody, whether they own an electric car or not, will face a massive hike in their electric bills due to demand?

No longer will there be any cheap rate electricity through the night because night time demand will make it no longer feasible.

Already we hear stories of how the demand for electricity today is causing problems with supply, along with ever rising bills (to which everybody instantly complains about).

In the UK we are already far too reliant on other countries for our energy supply, leaving us open to ransom on energy costs! With a World full of electric cars, do you honestly believe that those supplying countries will not decide to look after their own nations energy demands first and limit/cut off supplies to the UK?

Nobody seems to want wind farms anywhere near to where they live, nor does it seem that they want power stations that burn waste material anywhere near them, nuclear power stations produce waste that simply cannot be disposed of and power stations using fossil fuels are hardly the most environmentally friendly solution (plus - how long can fossil fuel power stations continue?, especially if there is a massive increase in demand for electricity?).

So just where is the energy for all of these electric cars supposed to come from?

As CCR put it:

I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
I see those bad times today.

JOHN T SHEA 15 June 2014

BRAVO!

Bravo! Though electric motors are a very traditional propulsion technology, just as old as internal combustion and no more improved. I. C. is a fast moving target.
peterover 13 June 2014

Good man!

Good man!