Elon Musk instructed Thursday throughout a Twitter Areas with Ford CEO Jim Farley that Tesla would possibly open up a few of its automotive working system code to different automakers. 

“In the identical means that possibly Android is useful to the telephone trade as type of a basic commonplace, like we may doubtlessly open supply extra code,” mentioned Musk. If Tesla takes that leap it can compete with Google, which has developed an automotive working system based mostly on Android, in addition to Apple. 

Musk was responding to Farley’s observe that making a “absolutely software program updatable automobile” is “tremendous arduous.” The billionaire government mentioned Tesla can be blissful to “be useful on the software program entrance.” 

Musk made the remark throughout a Twitter Areas that was used to announce a milestone settlement between Tesla and Ford. Underneath the deal introduced Thursday, Ford’s EV clients will get entry to the Tesla Supercharging community within the U.S. and Canada. Extra importantly, Ford agreed to include Tesla’s charging port into its second-generation of EVs, which features a truck and three-row SUV, beginning in 2025. 

Musk usually spitballs concepts for Tesla at reside occasions, a few of which come to fruition and a few of which don’t. If Tesla had been to attempt to commercialize its over-the-air updatable software program to different autos, it will put the automaker in direct competitors with Google and Apple. 

Google affords automakers Android Automotive OS, which is modeled after its open supply cell working system that runs on Linux and is modified to be used in automobiles. Apple additionally jumped into the OS sport final June when it introduced that its next-gen CarPlay goals to energy a automobile’s whole instrument cluster. Each tech firms additionally supply a middleware product known as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that connects a consumer’s telephone to a automotive’s infotainment system.

Provide chain partnerships

Musk and Farley additionally hinted Thursday at different potential partnerships sooner or later, together with within the provide chain. 

The Ford CEO questioned Musk about Tesla’s new Corpus Christi lithium refining plant. Ford just lately struck a sequence of offers, together with with Albemarle and SQM, to make sure the automaker’s entry to lithium. 

Musk repeated earlier woes that there aren’t sufficient entrepreneurs within the U.S. digging into uncooked supplies mining and processing, and that he needs Tesla didn’t have to choose up the slack. He mentioned the corporate has a nickel-based cathode refinery in Austin, and may also must become involved in anode manufacturing, however “hopefully not.” 

Musk famous that there’s going to be an enormous marketplace for artificial graphite (graphite is the principle materials in most lithium-ion anodes). 

The 2 CEOs have remained pleasant at occasions regardless of competing in opposition to one another. Musk has praised the automaker up to now, noting on a number of events that solely Tesla and Ford have prevented chapter. 

Ford, like different legacy automakers, remains to be aiming to unseat Tesla because the No. 1 vendor of EVs in america. Ford has a methods to go. 

In 2022, Ford bought 61,575 electrical autos within the U.S. Tesla bought 1.3 million EVs globally. The corporate doesn’t escape gross sales by nation.  Over the previous two years, Ford mentioned it misplaced about $3 billion on its EV and digital providers enterprise, a unit now often called Mannequin e. The corporate doesn’t anticipate Mannequin e to be worthwhile till late 2026 with an 8% working revenue margin. Ford’s conventional gas-powered engine items had been worthwhile sufficient to offset these losses, although. 

By way of manufacturing, Ford goals to achieve 600,000 EV items by the top of 2023 and a pair of million by the top of 2026. 

Tesla mentioned it needs to hit a 50% compound annual development fee in 2023 that ought to see the automaker produce 1.8 million automobiles.