Tesla's Elon Musk confirms talks with Apple, says acquisition 'very unlikely' at this time

Posted:
in General Discussion edited August 2014
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday confirmed that he had recently met with Apple and, while not giving away what was discussed, said an acquisition by any company is "very unlikely" in the short term.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk. | Source: Bloomberg via Getty Images


Rumors of a possible Apple-Tesla partnership swirled earlier this week when a report claimed Apple's mergers and acquisitions chief Adrian Perica held a secret meeting with Musk last spring.

In a live interview with Bloomberg,
Musk revealed that he had indeed talked with Apple, but would not confirm the contact as Perica and refused to say whether the discussions had anything to do with a possible acquisition. Speculation as to what the two companies discussed have ranged from deeper iOS integration to battery technology, the latter being an area in which Tesla excels.

Musk also hinted that Tesla may have been approached by more than one company last year, saying, "If one or more companies had approached us last year about such things, there's no way we could really comment on that."

When asked if he would be willing to sell Tesla, Musk at first seemed staunchly against the idea.

"I think that's very unlikely," Musk said. "When you stay super focused on achieving a compelling...creating a compelling mass-market electric car, I'd be very concerned in any kind acquisition scenario -- whoever it is -- that we'd become distracted from that task which has always been the driving goal of Tesla."

Pressed further, Musk said he would not rule out acquisition talks if it furthered Tesla's goal to bring affordable compelling electric cars to the masses. However, Musk does not see such discussions happening anytime soon.

"I don't currently see any scenario that would improve that probability," he said. "So that's why I think it's very unlikely."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    Maybe they are just looking into a joint venture to develop better batteries. That is something that is relevant to both companies.
  • Reply 2 of 45
    So basically, no new information. Other than Elon Musk saying, "yeah, I talked to Apple about stuff."
  • Reply 3 of 45

    "Mass market" he'll never get their alone. Interesting interview. 

  • Reply 4 of 45
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I like this guy.
  • Reply 5 of 45
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    buckalec wrote: »
    "Mass market" he'll never get their alone. Interesting interview. 

    In terms of creating a less expensive, electric vehicle for, say, under $30k USD I think Tesla an do it, but if you mean that he can't make electric vehicles appeal to the masses on his own that is true if only because all the other manufactures will be right there, but I think that Tesla and Musk, regardless of what happens, will be seen as the primary force behind what I think is an inevitable future for automobiles.
  • Reply 6 of 45

    Some kind of deal will come and Elon Musk should also enter Apple Board!

  • Reply 7 of 45
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I like this guy.

    General Motors' then-Vice Chairman Robert Lutz said in 2007 that the Tesla Roadster inspired him to push GM to develop the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid sedan. In an August 2009 edition of The New Yorker, Lutz was quoted as saying, "All the geniuses here at General Motors kept saying lithium-ion technology is 10 years away, and Toyota agreed with us – and boom, along comes Tesla. So I said, 'How come some tiny little California startup, run by guys who know nothing about the car business, can do this, and we can't?' That was the crowbar that helped break up the log jam."


    I can think of another motived businessman that kept proving the incumbents wrong.
  • Reply 8 of 45
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by buckalec View Post

     

    "Mass market" he'll never get their alone. Interesting interview. 


     

    The way to the 99% begins with the 1%.

  • Reply 9 of 45
    nkalunkalu Posts: 315member

    However, any sort of collaboration between the two companies will be great.

  • Reply 10 of 45

    Apple should do everything possible to acquire Tesla.  That would be Apple's future right there.  Nobody could say a damn thing about Apple not having a future or any future growth.  Apple would be able to kill two birds with one stone and pick up Elon Musk as a bonus.  Investors won't touch Apple with a ten-foot pole but they start salivating upon rumors of Apple buying Tesla.  Go figure.  Easy money.  An acquisition like that would likely skyrocket Apple's share price to $700.  Nothing else can do it but acquiring Tesla definitely could and would.

  • Reply 11 of 45
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post

     
    The way to the 99% begins with the 1%.


     

    Not in the car business. It begins with professional racing! :)

  • Reply 12 of 45
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by buckalec View Post

     

    "Mass market" he'll never get their alone. Interesting interview. 


     

    That depends on what you mean by "mass market" really.  But yeah, interesting interview.

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Constable Odo View Post

     

    Apple should do everything possible to acquire Tesla.  That would be Apple's future right there.  Nobody could say a damn thing about Apple not having a future or any future growth.  Apple would be able to kill two birds with one stone and pick up Elon Musk as a bonus.  Investors won't touch Apple with a ten-foot pole but they start salivating upon rumors of Apple buying Tesla.  Go figure.  Easy money.  An acquisition like that would likely skyrocket Apple's share price to $700.  Nothing else can do it but acquiring Tesla definitely could and would.


     

    Oh for f$%#'s sake.  Really?  Do you have any other tune but this one?

  • Reply 13 of 45
    I'd guess that Musk wanted to get Apple to help them redesign their dashboard displays.
    The physical display quality as well as the user interface and graphics.
    I've seen quite a few Tesla Model S's at night on CA 101 and the displays aren't exactly pretty.
    A $105k car should have really, really good displays and user interactions.
  • Reply 14 of 45
    Originally Posted by SockRolid View Post

    I'd guess that Musk wanted to get Apple to help them redesign their dashboard displays.

    The physical display quality as well as the user interface and graphics.

    I've seen quite a few Tesla Model S's at night on CA 101 and the displays aren't exactly pretty.

    A $105k car should have really, really good displays and user interactions.

     

    Quoted because it needs seen again. Plenty to add, but it’s too late to whip out the mockups.

  • Reply 15 of 45
    Some kind of deal will come and Elon Musk should also enter Apple Board!
    I second that
  • Reply 16 of 45
    poksipoksi Posts: 482member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Constable Odo View Post

     

    Apple should do everything possible to acquire Tesla.  That would be Apple's future right there.  Nobody could say a damn thing about Apple not having a future or any future growth.  Apple would be able to kill two birds with one stone and pick up Elon Musk as a bonus.  Investors won't touch Apple with a ten-foot pole but they start salivating upon rumors of Apple buying Tesla.  Go figure.  Easy money.  An acquisition like that would likely skyrocket Apple's share price to $700.  Nothing else can do it but acquiring Tesla definitely could and would.


    Man, your APPL mantra pollutes every article with your comment on it. Can you change the tune from time to time?

  • Reply 17 of 45
    poksipoksi Posts: 482member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post

     
    General Motors' then-Vice Chairman Robert Lutz said in 2007 that the Tesla Roadster inspired him to push GM to develop the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid sedan. In an August 2009 edition of The New Yorker, Lutz was quoted as saying, "All the geniuses here at General Motors kept saying lithium-ion technology is 10 years away, and Toyota agreed with us – and boom, along comes Tesla. So I said, 'How come some tiny little California startup, run by guys who know nothing about the car business, can do this, and we can't?' That was the crowbar that helped break up the log jam."

     



    I can think of another motived businessman that kept proving the incumbents wrong.

     

    This is only start. Electric power plant simplifies everything so much, that you will see thousands of shop car businesses around the globe producing them as PCs. Big fat expensive german car industry is already shitting their pants, believe me. Oil you can still burn and get energy, but how can you sell too expensive car if a small or medium company can produce one? 

  • Reply 18 of 45
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post



    So basically, no new information. Other than Elon Musk saying, "yeah, I talked to Apple about stuff."

    Isn't that obviously huge? We are talking about a guy that has 100x the importance of someone like Steve Jobs. And he just confirmed the meetings.

     

    That's huge.

  • Reply 19 of 45
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Constable Odo View Post

     

    Apple should do everything possible to acquire Tesla.  That would be Apple's future right there.  Nobody could say a damn thing about Apple not having a future or any future growth.  Apple would be able to kill two birds with one stone and pick up Elon Musk as a bonus.  Investors won't touch Apple with a ten-foot pole but they start salivating upon rumors of Apple buying Tesla.  Go figure.  Easy money.  An acquisition like that would likely skyrocket Apple's share price to $700.  Nothing else can do it but acquiring Tesla definitely could and would.


    And what is the importance of share price compared with products and the company itself? 0.

    Go and learn how to count cards.

  • Reply 20 of 45
    joshajosha Posts: 901member

    Telsa is one company I certainly Apple doesn't buy.

    I'm sure they won't, Apple fortunately likes to make a profit on their products, independent of Gov support. :rolleyes:

     

    This is likely a very overblown story, Apple is probably just involved in some addition to the Telsa.

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