Everyone knows that Tesla automotive software is based on open source projects, namely, on the Linux operating system under the GPL license. This license requires developers of derivative programs
to publish their source code. Otherwise, it turns into a one-way street, when it is allowed only to take, but not to give. But this is how Tesla did until recently.
In May 2018, the process moved from a dead end: Tesla
published a significant portion of the software release code for Model S / X 2018.12 . This is the system image of the Tesla Autopilot platform, the system code for the hardware and the code of the infotainment system based on Nvidia Tegra, which works in the car.
Repositories on Github:
https://github.com/teslamotors/buildroot
https://github.com/teslamotors/linux
Software Freedom Conservancy Foundation
congratulated the company on "the first public step towards fulfilling the GPL conditions." The Foundation noted that it rarely publicly talks about the specifics of ongoing proceedings with corporations that violate the terms of the license. Typically, violators are asked to respect confidentiality and not to put the question to the public, so as not to be subjected to public censure. Very rarely, a company openly and publicly acknowledges violations and publicly begins to correct them. So a few years ago
came Samsung , and now - Tesla.
Negotiations with Tesla have been going on since June 2013, when there were numerous reports of a violation of the GPL in the Tesla Model S car. Automobile buyers were supplied cars with a computer system that worked on Linux and BusyBox. At the same time, buyers did not receive any source.
In addition to Tesla, negotiations were simultaneously held with suppliers of software for Tesla - Nvidia and Parrot for the disclosure of the complete relevant sources (complete, corresponding source, CCS) for all binary files under the GPL found in Tesla Model S. In particular, Nvidia owns The binary is 2.15.50.img.bz2, and Parrot has a binary firmware_2.12.126. The first one probably corresponds to the so-called Tesla Autopilot 2 platform.
During this time, Tesla provided the Foundation with several CCS candidates who were neither complete nor corresponding to the binaries. Accordingly, Software Freedom Conservancy experts helped Tesla tips how to remedy the situation.
Under the terms of CCS, the source code must meet two conditions:
- Of these, you can compile the binary, exactly the same as the binary in the car.
- The user should be able to replace the binary in the car with his own.
It would seem that minor formalities, but it is very important to observe them.
It is important to understand that this stage - bringing the source code into full compliance - the longest. False joy can grasp that from the absence of source codes we have passed to availability. But no, that's not all. Complying with all GPL requirements is very important.
However, in May 2018, Tesla decided to choose an unexpected course - and she herself published on Github source codes that do not fully comply with CCS. The Software Freedom Conservancy Foundation welcomes this step as a public acknowledgment of its violations, but recalls the need to bring the code into the appropriate form. For this purpose, a
public mailing list has been created to discuss the release of Tesla. The first
message in the list is the analysis of a CCS candidate, which is published on Github and in reality is the seventh in a row CCS candidate.
The report states that the published source codes only partially contain the code from Nvidia (there are no source files for 88w8688_uap.ko and 88w8688_uap_mlan.ko from Tesla Model S), and the Parrot code is completely absent.
Thus, the case has shifted from the dead point. If Tesla continues to work in this direction, opens the corresponding free software portal, uploads full software releases for each model, then any Tesla machine owner can download, compile and install a fresh version of autopilot or other software on his machine. This will be full compliance with the terms of the GPL.