Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has once again spoken out against the use of patents, stating that the company generally avoids acquiring them.
Musk stated in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday evening that employing patents in manufacturing is a sign of weakness.
Musk gave TV presenter Jay Leno a tour of SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas, demonstrating some of the company’s Raptor engines, which are planned to power the Starship spacecraft. He stated that SpaceX developed the engines in California.
It is not the billionaire’s first time criticising the usage of patents. In a 2012 interview with Wired, he stated that SpaceX had “essentially no patents.” He said publicizing the company’s patents would be “farcical” since “the Chinese will just use them as a recipe book.”
Musk stated on a Tesla conference call eight years ago that patents indicated that a firm failed to develop quickly enough.
Musk stated in the CNBC interview that SpaceX built the rocket out of durable stainless steel. However, he responded no to a query about whether the company held patents for the material.
In the interview, Musk stated that patents were typically utilised as a “blocking technique,” preventing other firms from growing. “They just stop others from following you,” he said to Leno during the tour. “Most patents are bs.”
His most recent statements against patents come as SpaceX gets closer to launching its massive Starship spacecraft. Musk tweeted on Wednesday that the vehicle will most likely be available in November.