The most important decision of the century.

Recently I saw an article on CNET, which is a solid source for tech-specific news, that Tesla Motors was releasing the use of its patents to other companies.  The urge to think, "oh neat, but it doesn't affect me," is easy and probably the default response of most people.  To me it was like watching the Berlin Wall fall.  This is a decision of epic proportions.

How big is it?

This is one of those moments they will teach about in business school years from now.  It is like Henry Ford arranging his factories into production lines.  Or IBM passing up buying DOS from a startup named Microsoft.  By welcoming competition into the niche market that Tesla created we can expect greater innovation and lower prices as companies compete for our money.  As the electric car gains market share on our roads we can put other related technologies into play.  The forces are there for business to make a ton of money exploring this new market.  But will they?

Under the covers

The $8 trillion dollar elephant in the room is Big Oil.  With hybrid cars like the Chevy Volt or the Toyota Prius, petroleum based gasoline is still being carried in those cars.  They may use less of it but those drivers are still dependent on the world oil market.  Pat yourself on the back Prius owners for giving them a dollar instead of a buck fifty.  Tesla cars are different because there is no gasoline involved.  That's not to say that they are automatically a treehugger's dream.  That electricity needs to be generated somewhere and Tesla cars only shift the burden from under the hood to the local power plant.  If your city runs on dirty coal or nuclear power, your Tesla isn't doing the planet any favors.  Still, the oil industry is dead set against America getting off gasoline for our driving.  The opening salvos of this war have already been fired.

Big Bada Boom

I'm not saying that New Jersey is the poster state for corruption.  I'm just saying that blocking free enterprise hardly seems like the will of the majority or a conservative principle.  Chris Christie joined some other red states in blocking Tesla stores from operating locally.  For those who aren't familiar with their model, Tesla has no dealerships.  They have locations where you can test drive a car and talk to a live person, but all sales are done online and the car itself is shipped to the buyer's house.  Your local Ford dealership (or any other car company) is not a subsidiary of that car maker.  They are independent businesses with licensing arrangements with the global car companies.  Tesla uses a model that makes dealership businesses obsolete.  That doesn't mean that dealerships are done for.  If their car making overlords start selling legitimate electric car competition using the dealership model then everyone wins.  But you won't hear that idea floated because the auto and oil industry have been in bed together for over a century and they aren't likely to split up easily.

So is there hope?

I don't know.  I have my hopes as I'm sure you do.  This is one of those areas where my idealism takes hold and says that an electric transportation utopia is a financial viability.  Zero-gas, zero-emission cars running on wind, water and solar power profiting companies for the next century as the combustion engine has profited them for the last century.  Maybe then we can stop having red days where you have a choice between your health and leaving your house for an education.  And if the US wants to keep talking about itself as the foremost country in the world when it comes to science, innovation and the economy, then maybe we should be doing those things instead of resting on the breakthroughs of the past.