Elon Musk suggested Thursday during aTwitter Spaces with Ford CEO Jim Farleythat Tesla might open up some of its automotive operating system code to other automakers.༯span> Ӊn the same way that maybe Android is helpful to the phone industry as sort of a general standard, like we could potentially open source more code,Ԡsaid Musk. If Tesla takes that leap it will compete with Google, which has developed an automotive operating system based on Android, as well as Apple.༯span> Musk was responding to Farleyҳ note that making a Ӧully software updatable vehicleԠis ӳuper hard.ԠThe billionaire executive said Tesla would be happy to Ӣe helpful on the software front.Ԡ Musk made the comment during a Twitter Spaces that was used to announce a milestone agreement between Tesla and Ford. Under the deal announced Thursday, Fordҳ EV customers will get access to the Tesla Supercharging network in the U.S. and Canada. More importantly, Ford agreed to incorporate Teslaҳ charging port into its second-generation of EVs, which includes a truck and three-row SUV, starting in 2025.༯span> Ford to bring Teslaҳ charging tech into its future EVs Musk often spitballs ideas for Tesla at live events, some of which come to fruition and some of which donҴ. If Tesla were to try to commercialize its over-the-air updatable software to other vehicles, it would put the automaker in direct competition with Google and Apple.༯span> Google offers automakersAndroid Automotive OS, which is modeled after its open source mobile operating system that runs on Linux and is modified for use in cars. Apple also jumped into the OS game last June when it announced that itsnext-gen CarPlay aims to power a vehicleҳ entire instrument cluster. Both tech companies also offer a middleware product called Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that connects a userҳ phone to a carҳ infotainment system. Supply chain partnerships Musk and Farley also hinted Thursday at other potential partnerships in the future, including in the supply chain.༯span> The Ford CEO questioned Musk about Teslaҳ newCorpus Christi lithium refining plant.Ford recently struck a series of deals, including with Albemarle and SQM, to ensure the automakerҳ access to lithium.༯span> Musk repeated previous woes that there are not enough entrepreneurs in the U.S. digging into raw materials mining and processing, and that he wishes Tesla didnҴ have to pick up the slack. He said the company has a nickel-based cathode refinery in Austin, and might also have to get involved in anode manufacturing, but Өopefully not.Ԡ Musk noted that thereҳ going to be a huge market for synthetic graphite (graphite is the main material in most lithium-ion anodes).༯span> The two CEOs have remained friendly at times despitecompeting against each other. Musk has praised the automaker in the past, noting on several occasions that only Tesla and Ford haveavoided bankruptcy.༯span> Ford, like other legacy automakers, is still aiming to unseat Tesla as the No. 1 seller of EVs in the United States. Ford has a ways to go.༯span> In 2022, Ford sold 61,575 electric vehicles in the U.S. Tesla sold 1.3 million EVs globally. The company doesnҴ break out sales by country.ࠏver the past two years, Ford said itlost about $3 billion on its EV and digital services business, a unit now known as Model e. The company doesnҴ expect Model e to be profitable until late 2026 with an 8% operating profit margin. Fordҳ traditional gas-powered engine units were profitable enough to offset those losses, though.༯span> In terms of production, Ford aims to reach 600,000 EV units by the end of 2023 and 2 million by the end of 2026.༯span> Tesla said it wants to hit a 50% compound annual growth rate in 2023 that should see the automaker produce 1.8 million cars. Elon Musk says Tesla might ѯpen source more codeҠto other automakers byRebecca Bellan originally published onTechCrunch