The article is critically lacking in insight because it implies that open sourcing patents gave Chinese manufacturers an advantage.<p>That&#x27;s not how patents work.<p>A patent includes the description of how the invention works right in the application. Consequently, if you live in a jurisdiction where you don&#x27;t fear prosecution, you can immediately clone the idea. The only way Tesla could have kept their ideas &quot;secret&quot; would have been to not patent them at all!<p>Tesla&#x27;s patent pledge was just a public statement that, under certain conditions, they wouldn&#x27;t sue.