Tesla patents. Go ahead and use them.

mrjminer

Platinum Member
Dec 2, 2005
2,739
16
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Pretty cool.

I need to go take some online MIT engineer courses now and make a Transformer.
 

Sho'Nuff

Diamond Member
Jul 12, 2007
6,211
121
106

Translation - our technology is not profitable now because large auto manufacturers won't adopt it and the installed infrastructure does not support it. We will try to increase adoption by donating technology to the public. Once adoption is increased, we will kick ourselves and our company will go out of business because we will be subjugated by those who can make and use our technology more efficiently and at lower cost. We might feel good that we brought the world closer to the electric car. But we will be out of business nonetheless.

Oh . . . and our investors will be pissed at us and may sue the Board of directors for recklessly endangering the financial future of the company in favor of a idealistic goal, which has no business driving the bottom line of a company.

I sense a big "DOH" from Elon in the future. And a huge drop in Tesla stock.
 
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Sho'Nuff

Diamond Member
Jul 12, 2007
6,211
121
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Another thought - what's to stop another company from taking an idea, improving upon it, and patenting it themselves? Kills the spirit of the move.

Nothing. All Tesla did by this was ensure their failure as a business. I suspect they will reconsider. Soon.
 

Imported

Lifer
Sep 2, 2000
14,679
23
81
I see it more as a way to get Tesla to be the main supplier of batteries of other companies adopting their technology down the road.
 

gotsmack

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2001
5,768
0
71
I bet there are tricks hidden somewhere, like if you use the patents, all other patents you develop off of that tech will be open as well. Which is smart. Also there might be joint venture patents that are not part of the deal, most likely revolving around the battery.

I like it and as a share holder I'm not worried. Elon is a smart guy, I'm sure he figured everything out before setting the patents free.
 

mrjminer

Platinum Member
Dec 2, 2005
2,739
16
76
I bet there are tricks hidden somewhere, like if you use the patents, all other patents you develop off of that tech will be open as well. Which is smart. Also there might be joint venture patents that are not part of the deal, most likely revolving around the battery.

I like it and as a share holder I'm not worried. Elon is a smart guy, I'm sure he figured everything out before setting the patents free.

Yea, I didn't read the conditions on the release. They could very well have a viral license similar to GPL attached to their usage.
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
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.

:cool:

This is awesome. Major kudos to Tesla.
 

momeNt

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2011
9,290
352
126
Translation - our technology is not profitable now because large auto manufacturers won't adopt it and the installed infrastructure does not support it. We will try to increase adoption by donating technology to the public. Once adoption is increased, we will kick ourselves and our company will go out of business because we will be subjugated by those who can make and use our technology more efficiently and at lower cost. We might feel good that we brought the world closer to the electric car. But we will be out of business nonetheless.

Oh . . . and our investors will be pissed at us and may sue the Board of directors for recklessly endangering the financial future of the company in favor of a idealistic goal, which has no business driving the bottom line of a company.

I sense a big "DOH" from Elon in the future. And a huge drop in Tesla stock.

I agree, he probably rolled out of bed and wrote that letter thinking about it for less time than it took you to post this.
 

cubby1223

Lifer
May 24, 2004
13,518
42
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Nothing. All Tesla did by this was ensure their failure as a business. I suspect they will reconsider. Soon.

?

Here's the problem - his business and his sales are being held back in part by the lack of infrastructure needed to support electric vehicles.

There are people who would most definitely consider buying electric vehicles but don't have the ability to recharge the batteries in any reasonable fashion. His business's growth depends on other people pouring money into the electric car infrastructure.
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
20
81
Given that annual new vehicle production is approaching 100 million per year and the global fleet is approximately 2 billion cars, it is impossible for Tesla to build electric cars fast enough to address the carbon crisis.
I sure hope that the majority of the power generated in the US isn't from fossil fuel sources.

:hmm:


(Goddammit where are the Gen IV nuclear reactors?!? Right now with our terribly inefficient reactors [1-5% fuel], the amount of waste produced by a lifetime of energy consumption is small, a lump the size of your hand. Gen IV reactors are looking to consume >90% of the fissile material in a given amount of fuel, and they can use existing waste stockpiles as fuel.)
 
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cubby1223

Lifer
May 24, 2004
13,518
42
86
Our true competition is not the small trickle of non-Tesla electric cars being produced, but rather the enormous flood of gasoline cars pouring out of the world’s factories every day.
^^ That
 

norseamd

Lifer
Dec 13, 2013
13,990
180
106
Translation - our technology is not profitable now because large auto manufacturers won't adopt it and the installed infrastructure does not support it. We will try to increase adoption by donating technology to the public. Once adoption is increased, we will kick ourselves and our company will go out of business because we will be subjugated by those who can make and use our technology more efficiently and at lower cost. We might feel good that we brought the world closer to the electric car. But we will be out of business nonetheless.

Oh . . . and our investors will be pissed at us and may sue the Board of directors for recklessly endangering the financial future of the company in favor of a idealistic goal, which has no business driving the bottom line of a company.

I sense a big "DOH" from Elon in the future. And a huge drop in Tesla stock.

what happens when something conflicts with some self supporting dogmatic culture of thinking?
 

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,811
126
Nothing. All Tesla did by this was ensure their failure as a business. I suspect they will reconsider. Soon.

I don't think this will ensure their failure. Not at all. They might fail but this won't be the reason. I think this can only help them if it will help the electric car adoption.
 

T9D

Diamond Member
Dec 1, 2001
5,320
6
0
Because if other companies use the patents and spend billions improving on them, then Tesla will get to use those new ones also. Since they are based on their tech and patents. Which is fine if anyone takes the bait. And everybody wins.
 

norseamd

Lifer
Dec 13, 2013
13,990
180
106
tesla already has brand name recognition that is equal to any intellectual property
 

MongGrel

Lifer
Dec 3, 2013
38,466
3,067
121
I don't think this will ensure their failure. Not at all. They might fail but this won't be the reason. I think this can only help them if it will help the electric car adoption.
I tend to agree.
 

Miramonti

Lifer
Aug 26, 2000
28,653
100
106
This is a bit surreal to see him doing this. However, success is the best answer to critics, and I certainly hope Tesla achieves long term success.
 

norseamd

Lifer
Dec 13, 2013
13,990
180
106
This is a bit surreal to see him doing this. However, success is the best answer to critics, and I certainly hope Tesla achieves long term success.

guys like elon musk and richard branson are successful off their own intelligence and drive to do what it takes and western crony culture hates them for not going along with the wasteful and dystopic quagmire