Just a few days after Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk announced the company would open up its patents to rivals, Nissan and BMW have expressed interest in collaborating with the automaker, according to a report.
The two companies -- Tesla's main competitors in the electric car segment -- are "keen on talks" with Tesla to cooperate on charging technologies, according to The Financial Times. Reps from the three companies could not be reached for immediate comment.
[seealso slug=http://sale-online.click/2014/02/25/tesla-model-s-wins-consumer-reports/%5D%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBMW and Nissan would like to collaborate with Tesla on possible global vehicle-charging standards, according to the report. Nissan, BMW and Tesla control about 80% of the world's electric car sales. Nissan's sold 22,610 Leafs in the U.S. last year, coming in No. 2 next to Chevy's Volt with 23,094. Tesla sold about 18,000 Model S units. BMW's electric i3 began hitting the U.S. market last month.
Despite the encouraging sales, the segment has been hurt by a lack of charging infrastructure, which contributes to consumers' "range anxiety" -- their fear of running out of charge too far from home or from a charging station.
Musk has said the success of electric cars in general was more important to him that Tesla's success. Musk also recently stated that Tesla was considering allowing other companies to use its charging stations.
Tesla's stock price was up about 6% Monday afternoon on the news.