Open source electric cars? Tesla release its patents

[tanhanivar]

Tesla have released their patents "for the advancement of electric vehicle technology" and "will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use [their] technology".

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you

Maybe this is a splash in the pond of world news, maybe it will be a notable turning point in automobile history. Either way, I think it is very awesome, and exciting, and good news - especially for Mustachians who want to power their car with sunlight (the benefits of which were convincingly argued by The Oatmeal: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla_model_s)

I suspect I will, however, have to be content with at most an electric bicycle for some years yet.

[kendallf]

I read this a couple of days ago, and it just added another layer to my man crush for Elon Musk.  Seriously, I want to go and work for this guy; between Tesla, Space-X, and the Hyperloop, he's just doing cool stuff.  Cool stuff with the goal of bettering the future of humankind, without being obnoxiously preachy about it. 

[EricP]

It's a good start, but all the companies need to do a better job of working together to develop a standard so we can have just one refueling network, instead of each company developing their own systems.

[Thegoblinchief]

This thread convinced me that hydrocarbons are still the future, long after peak oil:

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/(dramatic)-depreciation-of-all-gasoline-cars-when-electrics-become-affordable/