The culture of open-source information just got a massive supporter. Tesla Motors->ke1842 has voluntarily revoked every patent the company previously held in the field of electric-powered->ke3234 vehicles, opening up other companies to use Tesla’s original ideas for free.

The unprecedented move comes as Tesla Motors’ founder and CEO Elon Musk released a statement citing his passion for zero-emissions vehicles and his belief in the growing need for such vehicles. “Given that annual new vehicle production is approaching 100 million per year and the global fleet is approximately 2 billion cars, it is impossible for Tesla to build electric cars fast enough to address the carbon crisis.”

With that, the company is now open to sharing its discoveries and innovations in developing, building, selling, and recharging electric vehicles. Well-established automakers like General Motors,->ke1024 Ford Motor Company,->ke31 Toyota Motor Corporation,->ke88 and others will now have free access to Tesla’s once-protected innovations.

Musk further elaborates in his candidly written letter that the electric car->ke1030 industry and eventually the world will benefit from having access to open-sourced and rapidly evolving technology.

Tesla originally held patents on its developments out of fear the large automakers would copy the technology->ke1701 and snuff out Tesla’s small operation. However, now that Tesla has made a such a name for itself and has a well-established (yet still rapidly growing) network of Supercharger recharging stations, that likelihood has diminished. What’s more, Musk points out that out of the 100-million vehicles produced annually, less than one percent of those are zero emissions. Thus far, Tesla’s competition seems noticeably absent.

Click past the jump to read more about Tesla's giveaway.

Why it matters

Besides Tesla’s bold and unprecedented move to release all its patents, this is massive news for every other automaker in the industry. Now companies the world over can use Tesla’s already-established developments as a springboard to further the electric car for greater, more widespread use in everyday life.

Granted, this news will likely not come to fruition for several more years due to the average automotive development schedule, but it’s likely we’ll see several automaker enter the electric car market for the first time or perhaps just make their current products better.

This is a seriously bold move by Tesla. We just hope Musk and his talented team of auto designers and builders don’t lose their shirts over this.

Tesla Model S

Starting production in 2012, the Tesla Model S is the realization of entrepreneur Elon Musk and his goal of making electric cars a reality. Fed up with the public’s notion that electric cars were slow and ugly, he and his company designed and built the Model S.

Costing between $57,000 and nearly $100,000, the Models S is a luxurious four-door machine with a maximum cruising range of over 300 miles. Its track performance is respectable as well, doing 0 to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds on its way to a 126-mph top speed.