Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a surprising announcement yesterday. Here’s the first paragraph:
Yesterday, there was a wall of Tesla patents in the lobby of our Palo Alto headquarters. That is no longer the case. They have been removed, in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology.
Crazy, right? We live in a world in patents serve as both weapons and armor in the war for profit. And yet, here’s Tesla ? a major player in what promises to be the future of the automotive industry ? willingly relinquishing its private stranglehold on its own technological progress. Why? As Musk said, “… for the advancement of electric vehicle technology.”
I think that’s a beautiful statement because it can only be made by someone who values the cause more than they fear the competition. Let me say that again: The only person who can make a statement like that is someone who values the cause more than they fear the competition.
Now, what would happen if church leaders in every city, in every corner of the globe, embodied that same spirit?
I think we just might witness the advancement of something much more vital than electric vehicle technology.
