“It’s been a while since the idea of Apple’s intention to purchase Tesla Motors started circulating in the corporate world,” Bilal Liaqat writes for Seeking Alpha. “The rumor sprang out of the supposed ‘secret’ meeting between Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, and Apple’s head of mergers and acquisition, Adrian Perica, last spring. It must have gained strength from Adnaan Ahmad’s open letter to Perica and Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, in which he suggested that Apple Inc. should try to buy Tesla Motors.”
“However, talks between two major tech companies do not necessarily mean that one is looking to buy the other – there are a lot of other, more likely possibilities,” Liaqat writes. “Most people seem to be centered on the idea of Tesla benefiting from Apple through a merger or technological borrowing, but, with Tesla’s Gigafactory on the way, it is possible that, contrary to popular belief, Apple, and not Tesla, could be on the gaining end. The $5 billion Gigafactory would look to produce enough battery packs to power as much as 500,000 electric cars yearly by the year 2020 – and it is a possibility that it could produce batteries to power other gadgets too.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Why Apple could win big with Tesla’s massive new battery ‘Gigafactory’ – February 28, 2014
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Apple talks; battery ‘gigafactory’ discussions more likely than buyout – February 20, 2014
Why the heck would Apple business development execs meet with Tesla Motors? – February 19, 2014
Apple-Tesla talks fuel hopes of advanced battery tech, deeper iOS in the Car integration – February 18, 2014
Apple acquisitions chief met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk – February 16, 2014
Tesla hires Apple VP of Mac Hardware Engineering Doug Field to lead development of new vehicles – October 24, 2013
It makes NO Sense
Ahh, but if you are a journalist and your boss said “Hey, I see you posted only 2 stories last week, get your butt in gear.”
Then you understand how a “journalist’ can take some other writer’s note about battery talks between the companies and spin it into a whole new article.
Now it makes PERFECT sense.
Exactly.
Yet another brain-dead piece from Seeking Alpha, perhaps the biggest circle jerk in the investing community.
Personally, I think it makes better sense for Tesla to buy Apple, and then lease it back. Or rent the company out for birthday parties.
There. I feel better now.
Oh, and be safe this weekend. If you have to go to Costco, as I just did, be sure to bring your light saber. You’ll need it.
both companies products rely heavily on battery technology. each company’s products can improve greatly with advancements in battery tech, so why not join forces and get it done
here’s why not to join forces: electric power & propulsion is a whole different ball game from consumer electronics. The important bits of the Tesla are so far outside Apple’s interest and expertise that no cross-pollination is possible. Tesla can jump on board with Carplay just like all the other automakers.
I don’t know, the Tesla is by and large a rolling battery operated computer.
Exactly, you can’t tell me there is no overlap.
While the propulsion side is of little to no interest to Apple the power side certainly is. Tesla currently uses very standard lithium ion cells about the size of a AA is a very special array, so the base level battery tech is not that different. Both Apple and Tesla have similar goals battery wise, higher capacity, smaller, lighter and much more rapidly chargeable. Also both companies need them in large quantity, and both want an exclusive edge in this department over their competitors. I think both could benefit from co-development.
Totally agree, both companies have extensive battery intellectual property that could benefit the other. Cooperation or at least examining the possibilities would make sense and encourage each to further develop concepts possibly on a mutual basis.
Up next, Why Apple acquiring Liechtenstein makes sense…
It’s got to be exhausting when your living consists of trying to connect dots that are miles apart.
Well, a Tesla can go 200 miles on just one charge, so….
🙂
265
Isn’t that with the upgraded battery? Or is your commute downhill both ways 😉
I believe SJ said that all of Apple’s products would fit on one table. I just don’t see how a car would fit on that table. haha
my Smart car would fit on a table!
Or underneath my Suburban.
Hope I don’t get a flat tire….
I hope that when the Apple Car is announced that it too can fit on a table.
Seeking Alpha is as bad as DigiTimes.
And just as phony as you. Phony.
Apple does not want or need Tesla and the inverse is also true.
However, Elon Musk would be a great add to the Apple Board if he has the time as he currently owns/runs 3 different companies.
Tesla is not for sale. How could Apple buy it even if they wanted too. And for what reason? Apple is a computer company, not a car company. It makes absolutely no sense at all! Stupid story.
If Google can work on self-driving cars, how is a collaboration between Tesla and Apple any more fanciful?
Certainly no more fanciful, except the Tesla is fully baked, and more likely to have CarPlay, since there is no-one to listen to music in an autonomous car !-)
Unless the car was named Christine
Anyone who thinks Elon Musk would sell Tesla hasn’t been paying any attention to Elon Musk’s personality and ambitions.
It wouldn’t have to be a purchase based on folding Tesla into Apple, they could just buy them then almost leave them as they are but benefiting mutually from developments and thinking that Tesla will be highly profitable in the future. Not saying they should, but they don’t have to just buy and entirely absorb companies.
Such an acquisition would significantly dilute Apple’s earnings and share PX. TSLA sells for over $1 mil per unit of expected 12 mos unit sales.
Cool. I’d buy an Apple car! :-).
apple tesla flying car !!!
Flying toasters … hahahahaa
(my apologies to After Dark and Tesla engineers!)
Apple buying Tesla would upset the Apple car(t).
Apple wasn’t talking with Tesla about mergers and acquisitions. It was probably about Tesla joining on for CarPlay.
or producing their own line of batteries, for cars and devices
Maybe they’ll buy SpaceX…
unless there is charging stations as abundant as gas stations electric cars will never take off.
better off buying Elio motors, which are making a car that will cost under 10K, get 80mpg with gas. They could make that car the iPod touch of the car industry
Because back when cars began replacing buggies gas stations needed to be as abundant as dumping stations?
The reality for many is there are plenty of charging stations when you consider your own home a charging station. While I didn’t buy a Tesla because it didn’t fit our driving requirements, we did buy a Volt last Friday. Since Friday, I have not used one drop of gas and put on 300 miles on the car and have not had to use a charging station outside my own home.
We will see a real cost saving of around $400 dollars a month after calculating in the cost of the electricity.
I for one disagree with your assumption. An electric vehicle suits the 35-40 mile I travel daily and for a certain percentage of the driving population, that is plenty.
That certain percentage you’re referencing is about 80. Fewer than 20 cars out of 100 are driven more than 40 miles in a day.
The Volt is a really smart car, IMHO. Chevy got the systems engineering prize with the series hybrid approach. They could have taken a giant leap forward with a more creative take on the coachwork, but that’s just me. They definitely failed to get their dealers behind selling the Volt.
GM, they can change, if they have to.
Don’t forget to change the gas in your tank every once in a while. It can get stale.
I’m actually enjoying the car more then I expected. Yeah, that gas getting stale thing is a real thing but I read that it will actually run the engine if it gets to like 3 months and I haven’t used the gas. That’s pretty cool actually. I like cool things and that is probably why I have a lot of Apple products.
The only issue I’m having seems to be a power struggle going on with Siri and On-Star. On-Star does seem to be smart enough to understand when I say, “call my wife” or “call my son”. I have to prompt Siri and she come on and bitch slaps On-Star and takes over. haha
Tesla is busy building a network of quick charging stations across the country. Plus, there are many places that are offering charging stations. The outlet mall near us has several.
Why are you comparing a 3-wheel enclosed motorcycle to a car? The Elio was designed for a 6’1″ person or less and has a tiny back seat (impractical for most). The range on it for me, the wife and kids is 0. Compared to the Tesla where there are free charging stations for pretty much any long distance trip I want to take in the U.S.
The Elio seems like a great vehicle for anyone where a motorcycle makes sense, but they want to be enclosed for comfort, but it’s not comparable to a 5 seat luxury sedan in any way.
Oh please. If anything, they were asking Apple to invest in the Gigafactory and probably work out a cross licensing deal with them in developing better batteries. Apple has long been known to be in the “battery game” and have had an engineering team working on battery chemistry for a while now.
Unless you live right smack in the city, the additional cost of hybrid cars barely breaks even in savings unless you drive the care at least 8 years. Then, how are you going to sell a car with an expensive battery that needs to be replaced? I will run to buy a hybrid when the cost comes down, but they are too busy milking adopters for all they are worth. At what point can they get an Accord Hybrid less than $5 grand more than a regular 4cyl. Accord? To get in the green(no pun intended) making up that additional cost, you have to drive that thing 10 years.
For some of us it’s all about lowering our carbon footprint *today*
Great.
Only problem is most electricity is produced by coal burning plants. And batteries are bulky, very bad tech and clogging landfills daily.
Green answer: Hydrogen.
Really?? Coal is far cleaner than the crap coming out of an ICE engine. Also the batteries coming out of the electric cars are put into “retirement” by being installed in homes and businesses. That means your battery is worth money to you and has a life long after its removed from an electric car especially from a Tesla. My Mazda may be the last ICE car I own… can’t wait.
Hydrogen.
Look into what it take to create hydrogen and you might change your tune. Also terrorists can’t blow up electric cars, can you imagine the carnage that will take place with all that hydrogen floating driving around in cars and at storage facilities!
After this rumor hit MS is reportedly in talks with Fiat to purchase the Yugo brand and all remaining assets.
I can’t imagine Apple acquiring Tesla.
An Ives-designed car – with beveled edges. Sounds… exotic?
The battery angle makes more sense.
Gossip.
Not journalism.
Well then, since journalism seems nowhere in evidence, how about even more unfettered speculation, more in the style of Douglas Adams?
No one (until korgri, above) has mentioned what should have been an obvious connexion – space. Suppose Apple’s new spaceship “campus” is an Ark preparing to depart for the stars, and are working with SpaceX’s Elon Musk to that end? The ticket lottery is going to be hellacious.
Opinion. Not gossip.
If it ever came true I at least hope the car is all wheel drive like a Subaru.
A quiet Subaru now that is a dream that I can’t see coming to fruition sadly.
Wait 6 months. http://www.teslamotors.com/en_CA/modelx
Those who knew Steve Jobs knew that in his last years he was really interested in the auto industry and had thoughts on getting involved in it.
I highly doubt Apple is now looking at this (other than CarPlay and sharing of battery tech), nor should they be. But, if “Steve was alive today”, I could see him being involved with Tesla on some level.
WTF!?
I get so weary of this marketplace speculation-especially when it’s pure speculation and nothing more.
We cannot even keep up with what’s real anymore, and it’s getting more difficult to even make a distinction between the two [speculation and what’s really on the table] with the way online information is distributed.
Absolutely idiotic.
This is the dumbest thing I’ve read in.. well, days.
Did the Motley Fool buy MDN? why are there such stupid
articles on here?
Apple should acquire Orange Amplifiers!
http://www.orangeamps.com