Alex Bruno
Elon Musk has a long list of interests, from space exploration to reducing the notorious traffic in Los Angeles.
Is there anything that doesn’t qualify? Patents.
In a recent appearance on CNBC’s “Jay Leno’s Garage,” the 51-year-old businessman gave the former “Tonight Show” host a tour of the SpaceX Starbase in Texas.
Leno questioned SpaceX on whether it has a patent on the actual content used to make its spacecraft during the tour. In response, Musk said that his company “[doesn’t] actually patent stuff.”
Musk told Leno, “I don’t care about patents. Patents are just for the feeble.
Patents are “usually employed as a blocking mechanism,” in Musk’s perspective, and are intended to stop others from inventing.
He claims that “they’re utilized like landmines in battle.” They just prevent people from following you; they don’t genuinely progress things.
Musk has already expressed his dislike of patents. In a 2014 message to Tesla staff, Musk claimed that his business’s success will depend less on its patent portfolio and more on its capacity “to recruit and inspire the world’s most qualified engineers.”
He said at the time that “patents serve only to hinder innovation, solidify the positions of powerful businesses, and benefit people in the legal profession, rather than the genuine innovators.”
Tesla has promised that it “will not launch patent cases against anybody who, in good faith, desires to utilize its technology,” according to the company’s legal page on its website.
Source: CNBC
