According to the missive, Tesla initially applied for patents on its technology because it was afraid bigger, more powerful automakers would take its ideas and destroy the tiny automaker. However, that hasn't happened. Musk claims that while the company has grown, "electric car programs (or programs for any vehicle that doesn't burn hydrocarbons) at the major manufacturers are small to non-existent." At the same time, the global auto industry continues to grow, and Tesla's main competitors aren't from other electric carmakers, but the traditional internal combustion engine.
Musk claims that if you walk into the company's lobby right now all of its patent forms are gone from the walls. "We believe that Tesla, other companies making electric cars, and the world would all benefit from a common, rapidly-evolving technology platform," he writes.
It's startling to see this announcement come so suddenly, but it's not entirely surprising. While answering a question at the company's recent shareholder meeting, Musk said he was considering something that "should be kind of controversial with respect to Tesla's patents." He later hinted to the BBC that he might be opening them up.
In the statement, Musk also philosophizes about patents in general. When he was younger, he thought they were valuable to protect a business. Today, "they serve merely to stifle progress, entrench the positions of giant corporations and enrich those in the legal profession, rather than the actual inventors." Even his company SpaceX avoids patents, reportedly to protect its ideas.
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