Tesla Is Giving Away Its Supercharger Technology To Competitors

After dropping a few hints about potentially sharing some of its electric vehicle patents, Tesla Motors is doing exactly that. The company is looking to open up the designs for its Supercharger fast-charging technology with potential competitors — something that might eventually mean it actually sells less cars.

Engadget reports that at the launch of the Model S in the UK — the car that recently went on sale in Australia as well — company boss Elon Musk told a gathering that he wanted to share previously protected and proprietary information about Tesla’s Supercharger stations, turning the existing network into the defacto worldwide standard for electric car charging.

Tesla Will Build A Supercharger Network In Australia

Open-sourcing the company’s Supercharger tech, currently considered one of the best and fastest electric vehicle charging methods, would give current Tesla competitors like Nissan and BMW an instant leg-up in building and selling electric cars. Tesla’s Model S and upcoming Model X are the poster children for electric car tech at the moment, but established car-makers like Mitsubishi could easily eclipse the Californian startup in a few years.

Tesla’s Supercharger move might pay off in the long run, though. More electric cars on the road would remove some of the potential stigma of EVs — whether it is accurate or not — increasing the potential market for Tesla to sell to. Tangentially, and more importantly, it would eventually increase worldwide demand for electric cars, batteries for which would likely come from a Tesla Motors gigafactory.

Even if the sharing of Tesla Motors’ Supercharger tech and patents is nothing more than a noble move to advance the state of electric, emissions-free motoring, it’s a good thing for the company to do. [Engadget]