Mahindra To Review Tesla Patents For Its Electric Vehicles

Auto company Mahindra & Mahindra will review the technology patents that Tesla Motors, an American electric carmaker, has made free for its products. Mahindra Group’s Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles has been working on various electric vehicles (EV), including its upcoming sports car ‘Halo.’ The concept model was showcased at Asia’s largest motor show held in February in New Delhi.

“We have not yet reviewed the patents available. (We) will have to determine the applicability to our EV products,” Pawan Goenka, Mahindra & Mahindra executive director and president (automotive and farm equipment sectors), said.

Earlier, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, had announced to make Tesla patents free in the spirit of the open source movement and for the advancement of electric vehicle technology. “Tesla would not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology,” he said.

Hinting at Mahindra & Mahindra’s interest in the Tesla patents, Chetan Maini, Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles chief executive officer, said, “We will review them (patents) and it’s too early to comment on the direct benefit to us.”

“As a philosophy, I do believe it’s going to make people rethink on IP and technology sharing,” he added.

According to media reports, Tesla’s two main competitors - Nissan and BMW - are interested in collaborating with the US electric carmaker.
Mahindra Reva has also been working to ramp up its electric vehicles, even though its market in India is small. It had also slashed the price of its electric small car, e2o, by up to Rs 0.17 million earlier this year.