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Elon Musk says Tesla doesn't want to crush rivals, and the company is open to licensing its self-driving software and battery technology

Jul 29, 2020, 09:20 IST
Business Insider
Elon Musk said Tesla might license software to competitors.Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
  • Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday that Tesla would consider licensing its self-driving software and supplying battery technology to other automakers.
  • "We're just trying to accelerate sustainable energy, not crush competitors!" Musk said.
  • Musk's comments came in response to a blog post about German automakers looking to close the technological gap between them and Tesla.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the electric automaker is considering getting into the business of lending software and supplying hardware to its competitors, floating the idea in a tweet Tuesday.

"Tesla is open to licensing software and supplying powertrains & batteries. We're just trying to accelerate sustainable energy, not crush competitors!" Musk said.

The comments came in response to a tweet linking to a report from Teslerati about German automakers' plans to catch up to Tesla in their development of electric vehicles.

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Automakers have been fairly transparent about its technological head start, with one Volkswagen executive saying Tesla has a 10-year jump on rivals, according to Reuters. Audi's new CEO, Markus Duesmann, also told Reuters that Tesla has at least a two-year advantage "in terms of computing and software architecture, and in autonomous driving as well."

When pressed further by a Twitter user about whether Tesla would consider licensing its flagship self-driving software, Autopilot, Musk replied: "Sure."

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In the past, Tesla supplied powertrains and batteries to Mercedes-Benz and Toyota when the companies were Tesla shareholders, but it has since ended those programs, according to Electrek.

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