Apple Shareholders Want Tim Cook To Acquire Tesla Motors

Two prominent Apple shareholders asked CEO Tim Cook if he was considering acquiring Tesla Motors, the most prominent electric car company headed by inventor Elon Musk.

It has been rumored before, although shareholders have not been quite so vocal on the subject. Cook averted the question, simply stating he would like Tesla to integrate CarPlay – Apple’s car dashboard system – into the Model S.

It does bring up a good question though, is Apple looking to acquire Tesla? The benefits of having one of the most valuable electric car manufacturers, alongside one of the ‘coolest’ brands, are definitely prestigious.

The fact Apple is making an electric car with self-driving capabilities makes Tesla even more valuable, as it has already implemented an advanced auto-pilot mode into its updated Model S.

Similar to the $3 billion (£2.01 billion) acquisition of Beats Electronics, Apple gains a strong brand identity alongside a talented bunch of people.

Tesla Motors acquisition is a much higher risk however, considering Apple might have to spend up to $50 billion (£33 billion) in order to even interest Musk, who is adamant about pushing the advent of mainstream electric car adoption.

This is something Apple may run into trouble when discussing terms. For Musk, open patents and free charging are part of the Tesla culture, for Apple they are revenue opportunities.

Factories are another issue, considering Tim Cook was the pioneer in the 1990s that moved Apple from near bankruptcy to profitability, mostly from removing owned factories and instead working with contractors in China.

Tesla, on the other hand, has its own factories to produce almost every element of the Model S.

It is unlikely the two will work together due to the differences in leadership and goals, but if it does happen it would be Apple’s largest acquisition by far.

PHOTO: Phone Arena