Musk says Tesla to ‘open source’ Model S and X, but prior release makes us skeptical
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- Tesla's November 2023 Roadster "open source" release contained only five CAN database files (339 KB total), a 309 MB diagnostic ISO, and two PDF guides — with no CAD, mechanical drawings, firmware source, motor design, or PEM schematics included.
- The Roadster GitHub repo has been dormant since November 2023, accumulating just 1,100 stars and 300 forks with zero new commits in two and a half years.
- Tesla released no open source license with the Roadster materials — only a "Disclosed Research and Development Documents" disclaimer that grants no rights to copy, modify, or redistribute, disqualifying it under the Open Source Definition.
- Antmicro reconstructed component footprints from the Roadster files because Tesla only released manufacturing outputs (Gerbers and pick-and-place files), not PCB design source.
- Elon Musk killed the Model S and Model X in January and Tesla ended production in April to free up the factory line for Optimus.
- The Software Freedom Conservancy has flagged Tesla's Linux kernel and Buildroot source disclosures — started in 2018 after GPL violations were called out — as never complete, presenting a genuine S/X release as a chance to close that gap.
Why it matters: Tesla's documentation track record matters to independent engineers, right-to-repair shops, and the Software Freedom Conservancy, which has flagged Tesla's GPL disclosures as incomplete since 2018. If the S/X release follows the Roadster template, Musk's promise amounts to a press release rather than the drive unit or firmware source that small manufacturers and tinkerers actually need.
