San Francisco: As part of efforts to combat global climate change, electric automaker Tesla Inc has released all its patents, Chief Executive Elon Musk announced. The billionaire Tesla founder, in a blog post, promised the automaker "will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our (Tesla's) technology." The announcement was made the same day prosecutors from the United States charged a Chinese national with stealing secrets from Apple's self-driving vehicle project.
"Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport," Musk said. "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."
Musk said he was doubtful of patents which regularly served only "to stifle progress" and helped enrich giant corporations and lawyers. To put a stop to large automakers copying the technology and using the huge marketing and sales apparatus, Musk said was earlier obligated to file patents for Tesla.
"We couldn't have been more wrong. The unfortunate reality is the opposite," he said, adding that clean-fuel or electric cars "at the major manufacturers are small to non-existent." However, with car production continuing at 100 million a year, Musk said: "it is impossible for Tesla to build electric cars fast enough to address the carbon crisis."
Musk added that the world would benefit from other companies making electric cars.
"We believe that applying the open-source philosophy to our patents will strengthen rather than diminish Tesla's position," he said.