RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
NPR's Business News starts with public patents. The CEO of Tesla Motors announced yesterday that he is suspending enforcement of his company's electric car technology patents. In a conference call, Elon Musk said the decision to not enforce those patents is meant to help accelerate the electric car industry. He cited the seriousness of global warming and frustration that electric vehicles make up less than 1 percent of auto sales every year. Tesla has hundreds of patents and more pending. BMW executives have already met with Musk about sharing Tesla's technology for recharging batteries. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.