...AND CHEAPER...:

From a competition standpoint, Musk considers Tesla's place secure. "What we are doing is a modest thing," he said. "You want to be innovating so fast that you invalidate your prior patents, in terms of what really matters. It's the velocity of innovation that matters." As long as Tesla keeps inventing and pushing the limits of the technology, it will remain of ahead of rivals.

Musk believes that opening up the patents around the charging technology could lead to important partnerships. He has talked this week to executives from BMW (BMW:GR) about sharing the cost of building recharging stations and creating a common infrastructure.

Tesla's nationwide network of recharging stations and its plans to build huge battery factories really bring Musk's point home. No other automaker is making anything like these types of investments in electric cars.

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