Elon Musk praises Tesla's rivals for finally building electric cars

AP

• Elon Musk, who famously open-sourced all of Tesla's patents, praised his competitors for their progress on electric vehicles.
• At Tesla's Model Y unveiling on Thursday, Musk shared examples of how skeptical some media outlets were years ago.
• Ford, Volkswagen, Porsche and more traditional automakers have all announced electric models in the years since - and Elon Musk isn't scared of the competition.

Elon Musk has long been outspoken in his mission to advance electric transportation, regardless of who wins the race.

On Thursday, Musk even went so far as to praise many of his competitors that are finally embracing electric vehicles, starting with a look back at how Tesla was originally covered by some news outlets.

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"These are some of the comments from back then," Musk told a packed house of Wall Street analysts, investors, journalists, and other Tesla fans. "The internet is forever," he joked, adding that "people said 'you're a fraud.' Okay, well you can drive that fraud."

Here were the examples he gave:

Tesla via YouTube

"Now, things have changed," Musk said. "Our goal all along has been to get the rest of the car industry to go all electric. We open sourced our patents. It's extremely rewarding to see that the rest of the industry is going electric."

He then followed up with more recent press clippings, and it's easy to see how drastically the tone has changed:

Tesla via YouTube

"Where will Tesla be in 10 years? Mars," Musk said. "We will be driving a Tesla on mars. I think we actually could."

More from Tesla's Model Y event:

• Tesla just unveiled its Model Y - here are the best features of the $39,000 SUV
• Wall Street is warning Tesla's new SUV could 'cannibalize' its Model 3. Here's what analysts are saying about the Model Y
• The Tesla Model Y has staggering specs - but it isn't a major new design for Tesla
• Elon Musk just unveiled Tesla's newest car, the Model Y SUV
• Tesla opens up orders for its long-awaited Model Y SUV, but production won't begin for a while

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