Tesla Patents – Insights & Stats (Updated 2024)

Tesla Motors is ranked as the world’s best-selling plug-in and battery electric passenger car manufacturer. It owns a market share of 16% of the plug-in segment (which includes hybrids) and 23% of the total electric segment 2020 sales.

Apart from electric cars and batteries, through its subsidiary SolarCity, Tesla develops and installs solar systems in the United States. Do read about some interesting highlights of Tesla’s patent, Tesla Cybertruck, and Tesla Solar Roof portfolio.

Also, want to know which automotive companies are leading in innovation? Check out our list of the top automotive companies ranked by their patent count here

Tesla’s Innovations across Technologies in Last 5 Years

TechnologyNo. Of Patents
Battery Technology And Management256
Solar Energy And Photovoltaic Systems193
Thermal Management And Cooling Systems115
Vehicle Structural Design54
Connectivity And Networking49
Electric Motor And Powertrain44
Software And User Interface32
Autonomous Driving24
Safety, Security And Privacy20
Charging Stations And Cables15

How many patents does the CEO of Tesla have?

The CEO, Elon Musk, has 23 patents.

How many patents does Tesla Motors have?

Tesla has a total of 3902 patents globally. These patents belong to 1221 unique patent families. Out of 3902 patents, 2651 patents are active.

How many Tesla patents are Alive/Dead?

Worldwide Patents

Tesla Patent Portfolio

What technologies are protected by Tesla Patents?

Tesla Technology Area

How Many Patents did Tesla File Every Year?

The drop in patent filing in recent years is because patent applications years are still in the process of being published. So, it doesn’t suggest a decrease in the patent filing.

We included all the family members to plot the filing trend. A patent family can have multiple patent documents – filed globally or in a single country – covering a single invention.

Tesla Patent Filing Trend

Are you wondering why there is a drop in patent filing for the last two years? It is because a patent application can take up to 18 months to get published. Certainly, it doesn’t suggest a decrease in the patent filing.

Year of Patents Filing or GrantTesla Applications FiledTesla Patents Granted
2024925
202317545
202227656
202116971
2020176167
2019203188
2018381219
2017265169
2016308153
2015330108
2014181130
2013196120

How Many Patents did Tesla File in Different Countries?

Tesla Worldwide Patent Filing

Countries in which Tesla Filed Patents

CountryPatents
United States of America1630
China349
Europe (EPO)339
Japan303
Korea (South)264
Hong Kong (S.A.R.)94
Australia64
Germany58
Canada49
Mexico42
Taiwan34
United Kingdom27
India25
Spain16
Austria14
Israel13
Poland11
Hungary11
Italy11
Brazil7
Malaysia6
Singapore5
Portugal4
Chile3
South Africa3
Denmark2
Russia2
Finland1
Slovenia1

Where are Research Centres of Tesla Patents Located?

R&D Centers of Tesla

The chart below distributes patents filed by Tesla in different countries on the basis of the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where Tesla thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.

Where are Research Centers of Tesla Located?

The exhibit below is plotted by considering the country where an invention in a patent family was introduced for the first time. In turn, this helps find the R&D centers across the globe and lets us peek into the kind of research going on in a particular country.

R&D Centres of Tesla

How R&D Direction of Tesla Changed Over the Years?

Tesla Technology through the year

How Many Tesla Motors Patents Earlier Belonged to Other Companies?

The chart below breaks Tesla’s patents on the basis of their first owner. 48% of the patent families in Tesla’s patent portfolio are acquired and aren’t originally filed by Tesla.

Tesla Motors Subsidiaries Patents

10 Best Tesla Motors Patents

US7923144B2 is the most popular patent in the Tesla portfolio. It has received 575 citations so far from companies like Hyundai Motor, Gogoro and Ethicon.

Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Tesla:

Publication NumberCitation Count
US7923144B2575
US20090139781A1322
US7592537B1276
US20080312782A1193
US8109048B2170
US7925552B2167
US7698078B2166
WO2006048688A1147
US7987641B2141
US20080264477A1129

How many inventions of other companies were rejected due to Tesla patents?

The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to Tesla invention. They couldn’t because Tesla had protected those before them.

Examiners at the USPTO referred 705 Tesla patents in 4625 rejections (35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103 types).

The top citing companies in the Tesla patent portfolio are Ford, LG, and Samsung.

List of the Companies whose Patents were rejected citing Tesla –

CompanyNumber of Patent Applications that faced Rejection Citing Tesla PatentsNumber of Rejections (102 & 103)
Ford91195
LG Electronics77215
Samsung69151
Gm Global Technology63131
SunPower61149
Robert Bosch50105
Toyota5090
Hyundai Motor4264
Panasonic3974
IBM3778
Kia Motors2741
Atieva Inc2337
Audi2151
Volkswagen Group1541
Honda Motor Company1526

Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Tesla Patents

Top Tesla Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications

Patent NumberCount of Rejected Applications
US20090139781A142
US8336319B221
US8686283B221
US20070009787A121
US8078359B220
US8946547B219
US8813460B218
US7698078B218
US8035027B216
US9321362B216
US7789176B215
US8277965B214
US20090023056A114
US7923144B213
US8109048B213

One more thing, We have converted this entire analysis in PDF form that you can download and save for later reading (or sharing with your friends). You can download it using the form below:

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Our comprehensive report provides an in-depth look into the patent portfolio. The report includes a breakdown of the patent portfolio across various technologies, listing the patent along with brief summaries of each patent's technology.