Except it's not "the open-source world", it's "the Elon-Musk-pinky-swear world". If Company A uses one of Tesla's patents and Musky decides on a whim "I don't like you so I'm going to accuse you of having stolen one of our trade secrets" then bam: royalty-free use of the patent evaporates in an instant.
If barely anyone takes them up on their "open" patents promise then it is, in essence, a marketing gimmick.
|