Tesla CEO Elon Musk has told a hacker conference in Las Vegas that he plans to “open source” the software his company uses to secure autonomous-driving features from hacks or takeovers, eventually allowing other carmakers to use it.
Musk tweeted, “Great Q&A @defcon last night. Thanks for helping make Tesla & SpaceX more secure! Planning to open-source Tesla vehicle security software for free use by other car makers. Extremely important to a safe self-driving future for all.”
CNBC reports that he told a private audience of around 100 people at DEFCON, an annual cybersecurity defence conference that this is a bid to make autonomous vehicle software safer by opening the software to more scrutiny.
“I think one of the biggest concerns for autonomous vehicles is somebody achieving a fleet-wide hack,” he is quoted as saying. Musk confirmed the decision in a tweet on Saturday, writing it was “extremely important to a safe self-driving future for all.”
CNBC adds that Musk said the move is partly meant to show that Tesla is putting security concerns above worries over protecting intellectual property.
