Tesla's patents eagerly accepted by auto makers...

[Toma]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ding-to-tesla/

the rest of the auto industry has leapt on the technology. Among those lining up outside Musk's door? Some of the biggest names in cars, such as BMW and Nissan. But just what is in Musk's patent portfolio that has them so excited? A lot of what you need to know to actually build a Tesla, for starters.

A survey of Tesla's patents by Thomson Reuters offers a bit of insight. Thomson Reuters estimates that the electric vehicle firm has spent more than $9 million amassing a portfolio of nearly 300 U.S. patents and patent applications. Adding in Tesla's various international patents, that figure jumps to 691.

Included in the list are some pretty boring things that any car company would be expected to file for — ornamental designs for car doors, display panels and so on. But even as Tesla has applied for an increasing number of those patents over time, there's also been a substantial uptick in the number of patents relating to battery and charging technologies, according to Bob Stembridge, Thomson Reuters' lead researcher on Tesla's patents.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Personal opinions on electric cars aside, what he's doing is very interesting. I wonder what impact it will have in the long term development of things? It will be interesting to watch over the coming decade as things shift from purely petroleum.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[adam c]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
This is actually pretty cool, I hope this does speed up development of electric vehicles

I wouldn't mind an electric commuter if it was powerful and had a reasonable range and charge time, but right now electric cars suck balls

that aside they need to make them way more affordable.. why buy a 45000 chevy volt when you can buy a 9000 mitsubishi

[Toma]

Originally posted by adam c


that aside they need to make them way more affordable.. why buy a 45000 chevy volt when you can buy a 9000 mitsubishi

A tesla is affordable for what it is, and the demographic. Directly comparable to higher end BMW, AUDI, Jaguar. Probably a better car in many ways.

Volt, Leaf, i_MiEV are expensive, but if you do a lot of in city driving, your monthly electric bill will be 1/3 your gas bill.

And there are no $9000 Mitsubishi's. Not new anyway.

The equivalent option electirc economy cars like the Mitusbishi or Nissan run about double the price of the gas cars, plus they advertise federal and provincial incentives... not sure what that is.

With some of them now coming with 8 and 10 year battery warranty, I may buy one. Or if Hondata supported tuning the Insight, I would buy a used one in a heart beat.

The Malibu and Vue Hybrids are cheap now used, but quite a poor excuse for a hybrid.... but, the Ecotec is tunable, and a guy could maybe upgrade the 5hp electric motor and battery packs etc...

[CapnCrunch]

Originally posted by adam c


that aside they need to make them way more affordable.. why buy a 45000 chevy volt when you can buy a 9000 mitsubishi

I like the idea of the Volt, but the price is out to lunch.

[clem24]

Originally posted by Toma
And there are no $9000 Mitsubishi's. Not new anyway.

Probably referring to the new Mirage, which starts at $9,998. So more like $10,000 Mitsu.

I think it's interesting. The way he see's it, most people are probably out of reach of his cars so he probably won't be losing sales anyhow. And people that can afford probably WOULD buy a Tesla over a BMW or Merc. And now if other manufacturers get on board with the technology and adopt it and create compatible charging stations, it's a total win-win.

[Toma]

Originally posted by clem24


Probably referring to the new Mirage, which starts at $9,998. So more like $10,000 Mitsu.

I think it's interesting. The way he see's it, most people are probably out of reach of his cars so he probably won't be losing sales anyhow. And people that can afford probably WOULD buy a Tesla over a BMW or Merc. And now if other manufacturers get on board with the technology and adopt it and create compatible charging stations, it's a total win-win.

Wanted to buy one. Could not find one under $14k

Tesla sales are falling. His missions from the start was to kick start and re kindle the electric car concept. Perhaps this is it for Tesla, and maybe he feels he has lit the match, and hopes the fire spreads for everyone else.

[benyl]

Originally posted by Toma

A tesla is affordable for what it is, and the demographic. Directly comparable to higher end BMW, AUDI, Jaguar. Probably a better car in many ways.

It depends on what you compare it to.

The price point of the Tesla is BMW M or MB AMG territory. It matches in luxury, but performance isn't quite there.

A P100 model S would be a compelling purchase.

[Xtrema]

With all the hype around Tesla patent releases, what does it really mean?

1) Talk to Tesla nice and use the patents and Tesla won't sue you? Otherwise, they will?

2) Use it however you like Android OS?

[rage2]

You should look at the patents that Tesla owns. There's not really a lot of groundbreaking technologies. Lots of fluff patents too.

[googe]

Originally posted by Toma


Wanted to buy one. Could not find one under $14k

Tesla sales are falling. His missions from the start was to kick start and re kindle the electric car concept. Perhaps this is it for Tesla, and maybe he feels he has lit the match, and hopes the fire spreads for everyone else.

That's not really his mission. His mission is to get enough money and tech to put boots on Mars. He's definitely not throwing in the towel.

Where have you seen that their sales are falling? Last I saw they were down in the US but up overall.

[rage2]

Sales haven't really dropped. More like plateaued. It's a mixture of production maxing out, and a supply issues with batteries. The gigafactory will solve the battery problem, but they still haven't figured out how to ramp up production cost effectively.

[RX_EVOLV]

Pretty cool. I have a much better respect for Tesla after getting a chance to drive the Roadster couple weeks ago. It was quite a beast.