Tesla boss Elon Musk hints at technology giveaway

Tesla boss Elon Musk has given the strongest hint yet that the firm is considering "freeing" its patents to help speed up electric car development.

When asked by the BBC's Theo Leggett if he was considering giving technology away, Mr Musk said "you're on the right track".

Mr Musk said he hoped to break down technological barriers to help speed up electric car adoption.

The firm will deliver the first five of its Model S cars to the UK on Saturday.

Mr Musk told the BBC: "We don't want to cut a path through the jungle and then lay a bunch of landmines behind us."

Earlier this week, Mr Musk told Tesla shareholders that in order to speed up the pace of adoption of electric cars, Tesla was "playing with doing something fairly significant on this front which would be kind of controversial with respect to Tesla's patents".

Different strategy

The company's Model S sports car will cost approximately £70,000 and be able to travel 300 miles (480km) on a single charge, according to reports.

Last year, the firm sold 22,500 vehicles and says it is on track to sell 35,000 this year.

However, it has come under fire for its mileage claims as well as concerns about battery fires.

Tesla - which has seen its share price rise by more than 112% in the past year - has a stated goal of making "an electric car that's better than any petrol car".

However, adoption has been slow, which is perhaps a reason why the firm is considering ways to offer its technology to other firms in the space.

It is a departure from the technology strategy of Space X, another firm founded by Mr Musk.

Space X is trying to commercialise space both through missions to the moon for NASA and through private space travel.

Mr Musk has said in the past that Space X does not patent its technologies for fear that they could be stolen by competitors.