For the most part inventors hold their patents near and dear to their hearts, not allowing others to cash in on their ideas. That’s not the case for Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Anyone can take a swing at producing an electric car now that Tesla has opened up the company’s patents for “good faith” use by others, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Musk says the company will allow others to use its technology in the “good faith” that rival companies won’t sue the electric car maker for patent infringement.

While the move is a bit odd for an automaker, Musk wasn’t one to hide his desire to share the information that he says will only modestly help other companies, but could go a long way in speeding up the adoption of electric cars.

“We have a bunch of patents relating to electric powertrain technology and how it integrates into the rest of the vehicle. I think that will be generally helpful,” he tells the Tribune.

In addition to patents for electric cars, the company will open up technology it is currently using to build a supercharger network that would be used to rapidly recharge cars.

But isn’t Tesla worried that opening up their intellectual property could push them from the market one day? Apparently not.

“We think the market is plenty big enough for everyone,” Musk says. “If we can do things that don’t hurt us and help the U.S. industry we should do that.”

Officials say Tesla will continue to seek patents for its new technology and those will likely be available to others who follow the company’s “good faith” guidelines. However, Musk says the patent system as a whole needs to be reformed. He believes that patents are too often used to stifle innovation and are just used as an excite to file lawsuits.

Elon Musk to allow rivals to use Tesla motor electric car patents [The Chicago Tribune]

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