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Podcasts Take Two
Tesla may open its patent secrets to competitors
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Jun 10, 2014
Listen • 5:25
Tesla may open its patent secrets to competitors
Tesla Motors' CEO Elon Musk said he may open up a few of his company's patents as a way to spur the electric car market.
Co-Founder and Head of Product Design at Tesla Motors Elon Musk speaks onstage during Tesla Worldwide Debut of Model X on February 9, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.
Co-Founder and Head of Product Design at Tesla Motors Elon Musk speaks onstage during Tesla Worldwide Debut of Model X on February 9, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.
(
Jordan Strauss/Getty Images for Tesla
)

Tesla Motors' CEO Elon Musk said he may open up a few of his company's patents as a way to spur the electric car market.

Tesla Motors' CEO Elon Musk may open up a few of his company's patents as a way to spur the electric car market. 

At last Sunday's launch of the Tesla Model S, Musk said he'd want to open up the designs for his Supercharger system. If he did that, it would effectively give his competitors a boost in technology and development that they wouldn't have to invest in, themselves.

While it seems counterintuitive for a company to help out its competitors, having more players in the electric car market could actually be good for Tesla.

It would create a standard for technology that uses its own designs, but also drive up demand for electric cars and the infrastructure in them — both of which would help Tesla's own sales. Alan Ohnsman, auto reporter for Bloomberg News, joins Take Two to explain.