Ali Hasan
Elon Musk just revealed that he once approached Apple to acquire Tesla for $60 billion but the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook didn’t even respond to him. Tim Cook didn’t take any efforts whatsoever to have a meeting with Musk to discuss about the plans for a possible takeover or negotiation.
Elon Musk said in a tweet that he reached out to Apple during the “darkest days” of development of his company’s Model 3 to talk about a possible deal. Musk said he planned to discuss the possibility of selling Tesla to Apple for 1/10th of its current value, indicating a valuation of about $60 billion.
In 2017, Tesla burned cash as it ramped up output of its mass-market Model 3 electric vehicle. Musk told employees then at the company’s Fremont, California, plant that it faced a period of “Production Hell” for 6 months or longer. Weeks after making that statement, he tweeted about sleeping on the roof of the factory as he tried to resolve bottlenecks.
In recent years, Apple has hired a number of ex-Tesla executives who specialize in drive train, car interior and self-driving technology, indicating that the company is considering entering the E-vehicles market.
Apple plans to build a self-driving car for consumers and is targeting 2024 to produce the vehicle. The company is developing its own battery technology that could reduce the cost of power packs and extend the vehicle’s range.
Apple is tapping outside partners for elements of the system, including lidar sensors that provide autonomous cars with a real-time, 3-D view of the world. Apple is also developing its own lidar technology.
Shares of Apple and Tesla have surged since the beginning of 2017. Tesla has gained more roughly 1,400% but is still worth less than a third of Apple’s market capitalization. This week, Apple’s stock has climbed, while Tesla has slipped.
Tesla is now worth more than $600 billion on the public markets after joining the S&P 500 this week, most Wall Street analysts seem perplexed by the stock’s recent growth, which has been owed to young and first-time investors rallying behind Tesla’s products and its CEO.
Will Apple ever launch its own Electric Car? Well, only time will tell.
