UNTIL recently I had heard of but never really experienced open sourcing but that's all changed thanks to Tesla Motors.

In a bid to encourage the other vehicle manufacturers to expand beyond conventional fuel-burning vehicles they are making details of their products publicly available and removing all patents.

This level of transparency isn't what you would expect in such a competitive market but it's an impressive one.

Companies in other industries, for example Pixar, have done similar things with the view that it's the best way to move the market forward. It's a holistic and forward thinking approach and a really refreshing one.

On its website Tesla say that it alone can't build enough electric cars to address the carbon crisis in a huge market.

The firm also sees the only true competition as the vast number of conventionally fueled vehicles being sold every year rather than the relatively modest number of electric cars that their competitors are selling.

It's a great gesture to improve the market and provide a platform for the next generation of students and engineers to take the automotive market forward.

It shows an unwavering faith in what they do and a reassured confidence in the quality of their products.

It's also a smart move because it puts Tesla in pole position to shape the future of the market and encourage consistency of technology platforms which are fully aligned to their own technology.

A strategy like this has the potential to make a difference in encouraging innovation and the evolution of cleaner motoring. Well done to Tesla.