Is Apple building a battery division to take on Tesla?

“Investors might be too focused on Apple Inc.’s rumored automobile to realize that the company might be more interested in developing high-end batteries for consumer electronics,” Louis Bedigian reports for Benzinga.

“Earlier this year A123 Systems sued Apple and five former employees who allegedly violated an NDA (nondisclosure agreement),” Bedigian reports. “According to Reuters, the lawsuit claimed that “Apple is currently developing a large-scale battery division to compete in the very same field as A123. That quote was practically buried under the mountain of automobile-related rumors, but it has resurfaced now that Apple and A123 Systems have decided to settle their lawsuit. And it could hold an entirely new meaning for investors now that Tesla Motors Inc. has unveiled its Powerwall home battery.”

“Tech industry expert and analyst Jeff Kagan thinks this could be a good venture for Apple, but only if its own technology was truly superior,” Bedigian reports. “‘If they have a technology that will be better than traditional battery technology and they apply the Apple brand to it, they obviously will have a big chance for industry success,’ Kagan told Benzinga.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Almost anything is now possible with Apple and their war chest, however, the battery conundrum will require a Herculean breakthrough.