Tesla as an open source?

[SoobieOut]

Thought you might like to read Elon Musk take on patents and open source in the EV market.

All Our Patent Are Belong To You | Blog | Tesla Motors

[Superfuelgero]

And...
Tesla Stock Negative After Patents - Business Insider
Wonder if you can still depreciate patents you open source, and what this will do the partnership agreements.

[Cobb]

Its likely he is soo big, you cant hurt him at this point. Like Coke Cola, they talked about releasing the formula as they are soo big, no one can compete with them.

[jamesqf]

So is it better to have a really small pie all to yourself, or have a fairly small share of a really big pie? IBM made a heck of a lot more money by basically making the original PC open source, than Apple did by keeping the Mac &c as closed source.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

So is it better to have a really small pie all to yourself, or have a fairly small share of a really big pie? IBM made a heck of a lot more money by basically making the original PC open source, than Apple did by keeping the Mac &c as closed source.

I wish they had done that with Microchannel. I understand that it was great, but everybody else preferred inventing their own to paying royalty.

[Daox]

Woohoo, cool!

[redpoint5]

Elon is on the leading wave of the future of business. Software and media were first to go open source. Now energy and goods will go open source as micro-renewable energy and 3D printing emerge.

Jeremy Rifkin calls it "the internet of things".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-iDUcETjvo&t=3m21s

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

So is it better to have a really small pie all to yourself, or have a fairly small share of a really big pie?

Articles like this one don't get that.

Tesla's plan to share its tech is bold, exciting, and a sign of weakness | The Verge

The new way is to cooperate to build an arena to compete in. This is about the charger stations and the battery factory more than it is about the car. Here's a more empathetic view from PC Magazine:

Report: Nissan, BMW Interested in Talks with Tesla About Vehicle Charging

It points out that Mercedes is already on board:

Such a partnership wouldn't be Tesla's first; the company has already teamed up with Mercedes-Benz to put its charging system (and other electrical components) in the manufacturer's B-class Electric Drive.

Edit: I'd thought my first electric car would be built with refurb Prius batteries but now I'm leaning toward the '18650' that Tesla uses. Here's some background info from Battery guru: Future of 18650 cells unclear beyond Tesla S:

Around 7000 individual cells, coded NCR18650A by their supplier Panasonic, are used in each Model S pack. Rated at 3100 mA·h, the cells are based on lithium nickel-cobalt aluminum (NCA) chemistry and feature a proprietary cathode geometry developed by Panasonic and Tesla. Last October the two companies announced a battery-cell supply agreement through December 2017 (Panasonic also owns shares of Tesla Motors) which will cover the launch of the Model X in late 2014 and subsequent Model E vehicles.

But the automaker's official announcement did not specify a cell form factor, and a Tesla spokesperson contacted by Automotive Engineering following the announcement would not elaborate.

The Panasonic cells purchased by Tesla are specifically designed for the automaker and feature a Tesla-patented vent system within the end cap. Battery supplier sources who spoke anonymously estimate Tesla’s cell cost per kW·h to be less than $160.

[bhtooefr]

For what it's worth, "18650" is a standard and common size for a LiIon cell, it's just that Tesla is using an 18650 with specific properties.

(An 18650 is 18 mm diameter, 65 mm long. Compare to, say, a 14500, which is the same size as a AA alkaline or NiMH cell, at 14 mm diameter, 50 mm long.)

[Cobb]

I use a lot of these batteries for projects that need higher voltage as they are 3.5 volts each. Make sure to mark and keep them away from the alkaline as those are just 1.5 volts.