Tesla: All Our Patent Are Belong To You

[OpenD]

Re: Patent suits in the auto industry

Originally Posted by Mack Knife

Of course there are some but not nearly as many in high tech which is where Musk's perspective comes from.

But then again, many of the Tesla patents are high tech, so it was not an insignificant move. I'm sure some of his investors had a heart attack over this decision.

All gasoline fueled cars can use the same gasoline except for different grades. The battery is the gasoline so patents on the battery technology are practically worthless. Musk knows that which is why he is giving them up.

Says you, and almost nobody else.

There are no patents Tesla holds that are worth much other than right now. In just a few years, none of the technology used to make batteries is going to be useful, the technology is changing to quickly.

The Tesla patents touch a wide spectrum of EV technology. The most valuable probably are the ones dealing with battery management and motor/drivetrain control.

If electric cars were selling that well, Musk wouldn't give up any of the patents. The fact is that electric cars just aren't selling and even the Obama administration is set on allowing increasing oil production levels.

The well documented fact is that Tesla is selling all the Model S sedans they can build, and there's already substantial pent-up demand for the Tesla SUV when it is released next year, even though this category is still in early-adopter phase. When increased requirements for manufacturers to sell zero-emissions cars come on line, as they will in a number of countries around the world, there will be more demand and with more production prices will come down, and when prices come down sales will go up, etcetera, etcetera.

There are no patents held by Tesla that can stop other manufacturers from evolving electric car design. Basically, they can go around him if they want, they don't want to, there is no reason to and even the government could really care less.

You've missed the point. Other car manufacturers like BMW and Toyota and Smart Car and others have previously consulted with Tesla, and licensed their patents, in order to access superior technology without having to develop it themselves. Now they can simply use Tesla's technology without having to pay for licensing, and that's a boost for the whole industry... reduces costs, shortens development and design cycles.

Electric cars are a short term gap solution for a niche part of the industry, nothing more.

I don't know where you find groundless contrarian pronouncements like this one, but it disregards whole huge chunks of reality, such as the fact that EVs are non-polluting, and that's an increasingly important factor all over the world.

All the major car makers are going after alternative fuels, not electric storage solutions. The efforts they are making is just fluff to say "look, me too!"

All the major car manufacturers are developing multiple alternatives to gas buggies these days, because nobody knows where the mass market will eventually align itself. Battery powered EVs are off to a strong lead because electricity to "fuel them up" is available everywhere, and the energy cost per mile to operate them is approximately half what conventional cars cost. You keep forgetting that significant fact. But several manufacturers are bringing hydrogen fuel-cell powered EVs to market within the next year, and maybe the public will like them better than battery powered EVs, even though there's no infrastructure to support them yet. Nobody knows, which is why so many are placing bets on both approaches, just in case.

But no matter what the energy source, electric motors and drivetrains are clearly here to stay, due to superior performance and vastly simpler construction and reduced maintenance over reciprocating internal combustion engines. It's alternative hydrocarbon fuels that are a short-term solution. If it puts CO2 into the air, it will have to go.