By Warren Zhao, Staff Reporter

Making big waves in the world of cars, Tesla Motors recently unveiled its Model 3 all-electric sedan. Now, as a teenage boy who is approaching the car-buying age, owning a Tesla would be a dream come true. Belonging to a highly environmentally-conscious generation, I love Tesla’s suave, almost secret agent-esque cars that not only look cool, but are healthy for the earth too.

Tesla Motors’ business model is something that all car manufacturers should strive to emulate. In less than 15 years, Tesla has enjoyed a meteoric rise from a small and irrelevant startup to a huge brand name known by people all over the world. Perhaps most noteworthy, however, is Tesla’s sharing of its technology. CEO Elon Musk announced in 2014 that the company’s patents could be used by anyone as long as they do not directly copy the designs. This dissemination of technology has huge implications for the future of eco-friendly cars that are fueled by electricity. In one genius move, Musk garnered huge amounts of publicity for the company, and also ensured that other manufacturers attempting to make their electric vehicles more efficient will have access to some of the best ideas on clean fuel in the world. The decision attracted the eyes of thousands of potential buyers. Sales for Tesla Motors jumped up by more than two thousand orders between the the third and fourth quarters of 2014, according to their 2015 shareholders report.

The question then becomes: why are other car manufacturers not seeking to replicate Tesla’s model by sharing technology? The simple answer is…there is no reason. While it can be said that it would enable rivals of a company to field better cars, that kind of market competition would only encourage developers to continuously strive for faster, sleeker and more environmentally friendly cars.

In this day and age, manufacturers can no longer afford to focus on just the aesthetic of a vehicle. More people are seeking more efficient and eco-friendly vehicles. Thus, car manufacturers like Ford and GM should seek to imitate Tesla Motors through the sharing of efficient and clean technologies between companies. It gets the attention of the public and increases profit, but most importantly, it is a step into a more environmentally-conscious future.

Warren Zhao can be reached at [email protected].