Musk says Tesla to ‘open source’ Model S and X, but prior release makes us skeptical

This is a car story, not a home energy story, but here's the gist. Elon Musk says Tesla will "open source" the Model S and Model X, the same way it says it did with the original Roadster. Tesla stopped building both cars this year.

The catch is that Tesla's Roadster release, put out in 2023, wasn't really open source. It amounted to a handful of small data files, a diagnostic software disc, and two PDF guides, plus some documents locked behind a login on Tesla's site. There was no design software (CAD), no wiring diagrams for the part that actually drives the car, no motor or battery pack design, and no underlying software code, just compiled programs. Nothing has been added to the public file collection in over two years. Most importantly, Tesla never attached an actual license granting anyone the right to copy, modify, or reuse any of it, which is what "open source" is supposed to mean.

None of this changes anything about home energy upgrades or rebates. It's worth knowing only if you own or are curious about a Tesla Roadster, Model S, or Model X and were hoping for real repair or engineering documentation. Based on how the Roadster release went, a Model S and X release would likely mean another modest batch of files rather than the full picture of how these cars were built.