Wikispeed

Wikispeed is an automotive startup with a modular design car. Wikispeed competed in the Progressive Automotive X Prize competition in 2010 and won the tenth place in the mainstream class, which had a hundred other cars competing, often from big companies and universities.^[1][2][3][4] The car debuted at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Michigan in January 2011.^[5][6]

Wikispeed car (2021)

Wikispeed car (2021)

Prototype in 2011

Wikispeed was founded by Joe Justice and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. In 2011, Justice gave a TEDx talk explaining the management style implemented by the Wikispeed team.^[7]

In May of 2012, Joe Justice launched an Indiegogo campaign to crowdfund further refinement of their prototype design into a market-ready kit car. Justice did not seek development funding from "traditional venture capital" in an effort to avoid forcing the Wikispeed project "into commercial short-term money-making".^[4] The campaign sought roughly $50,000 over a period of two months.^[4] The campaign failed.

Wikispeed innovates by applying scrum development techniques borrowed from the software development industry. They use open source tools and lean management methods to improve their productivity.^[8]

On January 6, 2015, Wikispeed announced that they have been unable to create a working engine module since their second model and called on the community for help. On February 15, 2015, Wikispeed announced an update that they have produced another working engine module.^[9]

See also

• Open-source car
• Electric vehicle
• Open hardware