Those ongoing analyst predictions that Apple would buy Tesla might have actually been based in some sort of reality. According the the SF Chronicle, Adrian Perica, Apple’s head of acquisitions met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk last spring.
A source tells The Chronicle that Perica met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Cupertino last spring around the same time analysts suggested Apple acquire the electric car giant…Tesla is set to announce a Lithium Ion Battery Gigafactory in the coming days that will more than double the amount of Lithium-ion battery production in the world. Apple obviously has an interest here using the batteries in all of its products. Musk has announced that there will be several high profile partners in the green US plant.
Six months before Ahmad’s letter, Musk met with Perica and probably Cook at Apple headquarters, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect business relationships. While a megadeal has yet to emerge (for all of its cash, Apple still plays hardball on valuation), such a high-level meeting between the two Silicon Valley giants involving their top dealmakers suggests Apple was very much interested in buying the electric car pioneer.
Musk has been adamant that he wouldn’t sell the company for quite some time. In response to the acquisition rumors at the time, he tweeted the following:
Forgot to say one thing at Tesla annual shareholders meeting: just as my money was the first in, it will be the last out.—Tesla has been hiring high level engineers from Apple at a pretty impressive clip and Apple’s Cupertino Parking lot sometimes looks like a Tesla Showroom:
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 05, 2013
Adrian Perica, a former Goldman Sachs banker, joined Apple several years ago to head up the M&A department. Before that, Steve Jobs was the head of M&A and he’d rarely make deals. For all of Apple’s money, it still makes very few deals, especially compared to its Silicon Valley neighbors like Google and Yahoo.
TSLA’s stock price has been on a tear since its release of the Model S rocketing from $30/share to $200 and its market cap is currently near $25B.
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, Elon Musk, San Francisco Chronicle, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, Tesla, Tesla Motors, Yahoo
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