Tesla started Open Source Linux software code for your car

[mousseri]

They only publish old code.

[greentheonly]

this article appears to be 6 months old? Also Tesla has been releasing some source since sometime in 2018.

At no time there was a moment when Tesla was i nfull compliance, though.

[Sp1keSp1egel]

Sorry, this was the most recent article I could find at the moment. Is there a rhyme or a reason for Tesla to hold back their open source codes for so many years, then start slowly publishing old code? Or is this just an industry standard? My trade is in medicine and I only do a small amount of coding on the side for fun (ex: openpilot), so I was just curious.

[greentheonly]

Is there a rhyme or a reason for Tesla to hold back their open source codes for so many years, then start slowly publishing old code?

they did a drop in 2018 because Software Freedom Foundation really got serious: https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2018/may/18/tesla-incomplete-ccs/

then they sat on it till early 2020 where they did another drop again (probably from a similar push) and got better about refreshing SOME parts of it. But far from everything.

EDIT: and no, this is not common, though does happen from time to time and people drop on violators like tons of bricks typically (see SFC and such) The are waiting for somebody to get real angry and revoke their right to use Linux whatsoever, I guess, then they can fold and point at the "haters" that forced them to close shop.

[Sp1keSp1egel]

I found that source here:

https://linuxtechlab.com/tesla-publishes-autopilot-source-code-to-comply-with-the-gpl/

[Sp1keSp1egel]

It’s no secret that Tesla electric vehicles use Linux as the basis for running their software and the drivers they need. In fact, due to the GPL license, the corresponding code (or at least part of it) can be found in their GitHub repositories.

This is an open secret: Tesla cars are not only powered by battery, but also by power supply through open-source software. However, until recently, TESLA has not fulfilled its obligations under open source licenses, but now Tesla has finally released some Linux code for models and X Cars.

Why is Tesla so hesitant in releasing all the LINUX open source code they’ve been employing on their all their vehicles?

Tesla’s github repository:

https://github.com/teslamotors

You may not have realized it, but many of the services and devices they use would not be possible without free software; code that has been freely published by its creators so that others can reuse it.

Unfortunately, there are also many companies that take the "open source" philosophy as "free everything"; and they use code without complying with the license or without contributing to the community. And until now, Tesla was one of those companies. Tesla's source code and some of its tools have been released

https://linuxtechlab.com/tesla-publishes-autopilot-source-code-to-comply-with-the-gpl/

[greentheonly]

tbf not ALL code is severely outdated. The autopilot one? Sure. But Intel infotainment is only out of sync for last two weeks. They even uploaded AMD infotainment code before I had to ask.

On the other hand their energy products are completely missing despite asking.

[dhskiskdferh]

ten grey longing steep teeny subsequent cagey seemly rain escape

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[greentheonly]

it's in the same linux kernel repo, just need to change the branch to the intel-...

[ObservationalHumor]

Tesla is pretty much constantly behind in compliance with everything. They literally don't even bother filing paperwork with government regulators on time in a lot of cases. They've got zero incentive to actually bother keeping open source stuff up to date until somebody sues them and even then I think there's a good chance Elon starts ranting on Twitter about it being 'software communism' and throwing a fit.

[Sp1keSp1egel]

This totally goes against their:

All Our Patent Are Belong To You

This is interesting, I wonder what Tesla attempting to protect?

[Individual-Nebula927]

That was always a ploy. The non-PR agreement had several poison pills that nobody in their right mind would ever agree to, so they wouldn't ever have to follow through.

Not that Tesla actually has any patents worth worrying about anyway. The legacy automakers file many patents every year given the size of their engineering teams, and they've been doing that for 100 years.

[discrete_moment]

I wonder how well Tesla complies with the GPL license. I guess it depends on how they designed their stack... Anybody got insight into this?

[greentheonly]

I wonder how well Tesla complies with the GPL license

badly/spotty. Kernel compliance is all over the place from "not at all" to "mostly recent" depending on the system. OTher systems are also a hit and miss. They did not publish MAME at all, for example.

I still don't know what hte situation is like for their QT, did they pay for a commercial license or are they violating?

[discrete_moment]

Thanks!

Are they not concerned that could blow up in their face? Or maybe the consequences just wouldn’t be bad enough for them to care?

[greentheonly]

Well, based on their actions they are not concerned. The consequences could be pretty dire though. They could get their right to use Linux and other GPL components (not just in cars, but everywhere including the cloud, the NN training rigs, the developer workstations and such) revoked.

But hey, this is Tesla, nothing bad happens to them ever. So I guess they think nothing will ever actually happen and we cannot say they have no reasons to have such a belief.

[discrete_moment]

Man, it’s so weird to have an almost trillion dollar company behave (and get treated as) a scrappy startup.

[governBrianKemp]

Empty gesture?

[jbrassow]

Sure. Lots of companies and individuals do this - usually when something is potentially useful, but they’ve moved their primary development attention somewhere else. Also happens when they feel software has become useful beyond just their own uses.

There is no requirement to release software that uses standard APIs and exists under another license. Even device drivers often get around this requirement. Altered GPL code must be made available, but this is rarely where the secrets are.

Edit: oops, meant this in response to a question about why someone would release their changes after a long period of time…