Bonum Certa Men Certa

Openwashing With Patent Pledge Nonsense: Tesla Merely Gives Back What it Took Away

Tesla



Summary: Elon Musk from Tesla Motors claims to be 'sharing' inventions, but the true motivations are far less benign than it seems on the surface (if not malicious)

WE HAVE been patiently watching "Linux" and "Open Source" feeds filling up with something that is not related to software but claims to be inspired by "Linux" and "Open Source". It's some marketing stunt from Tesla, which got the attention of OS (Open Source) Vehicle (another openwashing attempt).



The post says: "Is this a marketing stunt?

"I don’t think so. This can be a genuine effort from one of the visionaries of the silicon valley, one of the most advanced companies on earth, taking finally into account that – by having a value proposition targeted at a customer segment that is pretty small, mostly made by wealthy people most of them living in the US. You can’t really change the world for the better in a short enough amount of time (do you remember we have only less than 6000 days? – look at this).

"As you may also know, Tesla is developing a pretty cool new technology for batteries and it’s probably sure that having other big automotive brands producing cars based on their technology, their batteries will be able to target a bigger market and – at the end – achieve a bigger transformation effect on automotive."

But why were these patented in the first place? And if these were not patented, would Tesla be able to make a fuss about the so-called 'giveaway'?

The post goes on: "But if Tesla really wants to scale up its contribution, it must work towards the real adoption of the technological solutions that it is making available, it must switch from a product approach to a platform approach and – in a way that is similar to what we are doing – needs to engage with the community, understand how these technologies can be used and are going to be used and make efforts to ensure that every player in the market will have the same access, an access that is clear in terms of rights, obligations and implications.

"Also, an open source (patents) car will work in the future only if it’s accompanied by an open and distributed manufacturing process, that is able to include multiple stakeholders and be based on a more participative value chain, also embedding the principles of Cradle to Cradle production, eliminating waste and obsolescence."

We were preparing a long article about this whole marketing exercise that's basically openwashing the company using the disgraced notion of "opened" patents. IBM, HP and other companies have been using this marketing exercise before. It's utterly pointless and we have countered it repeatedly. Why are so many journalists bamboozled, including FOSS-friendly ones? Here is one key person from Canonical stating: "When I get home, I'm going to take down a plaque that has proudly hung in my own home office for nearly 10 years now. In 2004, I was named an IBM Master Inventor, recognizing sustained contributions to IBM's patent portfolio."

Further down he says: "I've never been more excited to see someone back up their own rhetoric against software patents, with such a substantial, palpable, tangible assertion. Kudos, Elon."

But Elon did not revoke the patents, he just claimed to be sharing them (in a pseudo-geeky way with a famous meme). That's a very different thing. It's the same thing that IBM claims to be doing with OIN, among other strategic marketing angles.

Shameless here is the type of free marketing newspapers gave Tesla, characterising a patent hoard (followed by openwashing) as some kind of championship of FOSS. The PR nonsense audaciously uses the term sharing, even though it's all about profit. They are selling patents as a form of marketing, creating dependence on their technology. Elon Musk, the CEO, has been getting far too much credit and publicity here; it's rather familiar because all sorts of patent 'pledges' by HP and IBM are worse than useless and his is no better. Those two companies lobby for software and try to make it look OK. Likewise, Tesla is patenting all sorts of things and now makes the patents looks legitimate by 'sharing' them (whatever that means). It's the Robin Hood mentality or the doctrine of 'charity', where rather than establishing social equality one works vertically, by giving from top to bottom, selectively, upon one's will and supposed 'generosity'. As long as there are patents on things like these, lawsuits will continue to harm small companies. "Heavy patent litigation scared off about $22 billion in VC funding over 5 years," said this one new article, and it is one among many.

The press that Tesla received extends to other countries and resorts a to pathetic cocky attitude that uses metaphors ("Handing Over the Keys") for openwashing or the notion that Telsa is "contrarian" and "open source" ("the open source movement").

One decent response to the marketing from Tesla came from Jan Wildeboer, who wrote:

Thank you, Tesla Motors For The Patents, but …



Here’s the thing. Elon Musk doesn’t trust the patent system to protect his inventions. So instead of filing for more, he will simply not file at all and keep his inventions secret. The stuff that already got patented thus is already considered lost by him so it is safe to “open source” them all.


When will the press finally 'get' Tesla's real reasons for doing this? It's about self interest; Tesla would get sued by shareholders otherwise.

Recent Techrights' Posts

[Meme] Not About How Many Locks One Adds
Some people try to point their fingers in all the wrong directions now that a new patch is available for rsync
Total Lock-down Ambitions - Part I - DRM and TPM Need Not be the Future of Computing, There's Another Way
Who is being restricted? Us, the users.
New Upcoming Series About DRM and TPM
We'll do our best to name and explain some of the alternatives that are still available
More Microsoft Cuts and Layoffs (Microsoft Media Mole Jordan Novet Tries to Float "Hiring Freezes" Spin After the "Headcount" Spin Failed)
As one might expect...
 
If You See Many Microsoft Puff Pieces That All Say More or Less the Same, Consider the Possibility That Microsoft LLMs 'Wrote' Those
There are also many phantom fake 'reports' about Microsoft in relation to some "hey hi" (AI) things
[Meme] The Crybully
Crybullies shrug
IRC Logs Complete in Geminispace (Even in GemText Format!)
We still envision ourselves - a community of justice-seeking enthusiasts - as a multi-protocol platform, not just some ordinary Web site
It Was Only a Matter of Time
We're going to pursue justice
[Meme] "Well, He’s Dead So," Bill Gates Tells the Media (Which He Pays) About His Close Friend Jeffrey Epstein
Does the police in San Francisco cover up crimes instead of solving them?
The Rumour Was Right, Today is the Second Large Wave of Microsoft Layoffs in 2025
It has only been two weeks since the year began
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has Had a Good 2025 Already (Its "Year 40")
FSF will reach $400,000
Computer Users Aren't Zoo Animals
Animals don't belong inside cages in zoos, either
[Meme] His Existence is Proof It's Not Infeasible
We salute the FSF's original mission
Links 15/01/2025: Efforts to End Wars and 'Newsflation'
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/01/2025: Abandoning Windows for GNU/Linux, SIS Progress Update
Links for the day
Links 15/01/2025: Social Control Media Spreading Lies, TikTok Banned in 4 Days
Links for the day
Microsoft Breaks Linux Again
Does it even care? It's selling Windows.
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 14, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Links 14/01/2025: Vaccination Hesitancy Problems and Kangaroo Courts (UPC)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/01/2025: Introduction to GrapheneOS and Small Internet
Links for the day
Dr. Miriam Bastian From the Free Software Foundation (FSF) Gives a Talk in a Couple of Weeks at FOSDEM (Brussels, Belgium)
It's good to see people from all around the world and with very different backgrounds united around digital philosophy
Andy Farnell on Eating Your Own Dog Food
focuses on security but goes beyond that
EPO Uses the Misnomer "AI" to Attack Software Developers in Europe
The EPO is nowadays a huge pile of crimes
The European Patent Office’s (EPO) Communication on "Reform" is "Incomplete and Misleading," Says the Central Staff Committee at the EPO
This puts Europe at risk and makes it more vulnerable
[Meme] How to Lose Social Life (While Pretending to Still Have It)
Talk to people, not to microphones
Android (or AOSP) is More Free Than iOS, Both in Practice (as OEM Bundles) Both Are User-Hostile
In a perfect world, people would choose and deploy software that is entirely made up of reciprocally-licensed bits
Neuroscience of Consciousness Paper: Why Social Control Media and Proprietary Spyware Harm Your Health
"Software Freedom turns out to be good for your health"
Access to the Source Code of the Programs You're Using Matters (Even If You're Not a Coder and Cannot Fix Bugs)
Companies like Microsoft tell us that full access to all the code isn't important
Guardian Digital (linuxsecurity.com) Publishes Fake Articles About Linux and About (for) 'Linux' Foundation Openwashing
Brittany Day is at it again
Links 14/01/2025: LA Crisis and EU, UK Respond to "X.com" Threat From South African Oligarch
Links for the day
The Word About the Upcoming Talk by Richard Stallman - Scheduled for Friday This Week - Has Spread ("The Cost of Freedom," Lausanne, Switzerland)
So the word is spreading
"AI Music" is Not Music and It's Hardly "AI" Either
Synthetic garbage is a solution in search of a problem
Webspam in BetaNews
Not only is it marketing SPAM
[Meme] 13 Years a Slave of Microsoft
Might makes right?
Gemini Links 14/01/2025: The Gemtext Print Hurdle and New Game: Fill!
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, January 13, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, January 13, 2025
Links 13/01/2025: Conflicts, Prisoner Exchange, and Homes on Fire
Links for the day
Angola: Microsoft Windows Falls Below 10%
Microsoft has a really bad 2024 in Africa
[Meme] Twitter ("X") Has Been Grooming Radicals Since 2022
Musk's very own "grooming gang"
[Meme] What Free Speech Ought to Mean
It does not sound like RMS suggests anything other than quitting social control media
Gemini Links 13/01/2025: RestFest, Yule, and Deedum
Links for the day
Modern Web Browsers as Web Censorship Software
We continue to recommend Geminispace
Two Weeks From Now Dr. Richard Stallman Speaks at The Summit of Future 2025 (India)
he will be giving a "Keynote Address" in India
Microsoft is Tight With Money: It's About the Salaries ('Cost' of the Workers)
a question of cost, not skill
Google Got People Sort of Addicted to Android So It Can Cash in (Services, App Store, Advertising) Decades Later
This is not software freedom
The Free Software Foundation Reaches 370k Dollars in Funding, Due Date is January 17th When Richard Stallman is Guest of Honour in Lausanne (Switzerland)
Even fellow board members seem unaware of it
Record Lows for Windows (Microsoft) in Botswana
The market share of Vista 11 is seen as going down
Preserving Deleted Articles About Bill Gates Talking Like a Drug Dealer About Computer Users
Now it's 2025. Different challenge.
Links 13/01/2025: Disinformation, Social Control Media Actively Promoting Nazism, and Catchup With Ukraine
Links for the day
Microsoft Front Group Starts the Year by Championing Underage (or Child) Labour
the fake 'FSF'
TPM Boosters Inside Debian (TPM Isn't About Security, It is About Control Over Users and Their Machines)
We're not rushing to any conclusions
Aaron Swartz Died 12 Years Ago After a Vicious Government Campaign to Stop Him
The Aaron Swartz story is a reminder of the importance of having verifiable/verified information out there for the general public to see
Links 13/01/2025: GitLab Enshittification and Minimalism and Efficiency with Gemini Protocol
Links for the day
Links 13/01/2025: Hardware, Health, and Conflicts
Links for the day
Chatbots Are Not Data-Driven, They're Human-Censored and Rely on Wage Slaves (and Sometimes Unpaid Volunteers)
This is the Microsoft wage slavery
Microsoft Appears to Have Fallen to Only 15% in Maldives
This is a problem for Microsoft
Rumours of IBM Canada Layoffs
We'll keep a vigilant eye on this
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, January 12, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, January 12, 2025