Tesla not 'a realistic acquisition target' for Apple, says analyst

"Apple doesn't need to acquire Tesla in order to meet its goals"

What you need to know

• Apple analyst Neil Cybart has said Elon Musk's offer to sell Tesla to Apple probably came last year.
• Cybart, however, says a deal was probably never on the cards.

Apple analyst Neil Cybart says that Elon Musk probably offered to sell Tesla to Apple last year, but that a deal has never been on the cards.

Yesterday, Musk tweeted to say he had offered to sell Tesla to Apple "during the darkest days of the Model 3 program" for 1/10 of its current value, however, Tim Cook refused to take the meeting. The news comes amidst rising reports Apple will make its own foray into the electric vehicle market as early as 2024.

Analyst Neil Cybart has responded to Musk's claim, noting this was likely sometime last year, but that a deal probably wasn't possible:

Some context:

The Model 3 program's darkest days were last year. One year earlier in 2018, Apple had hired Doug Field, Tesla's top engineer not named Elon Musk, to help lead Project Titan. Apple has reportedly been continuing to hire Tesla employees ever since. pic.twitter.com/eNeSOsxd1t

— Neil Cybart (@neilcybart) December 22, 2020

Back in 2018 Cybart wrote about this very prospect stating:

Given Apple's interest in transportation and Tesla having the most popular, highest-rated car on the road, many have positioned Tesla as an Apple acquisition target. Apple's strong balance sheet adds fuel to the fire. With $129B of net cash, Apple could pay $70B+ to acquire Tesla and instantly become a player in the auto space.

However, Tesla isn't a realistic acquisition target for Apple. More importantly, Apple doesn't need to acquire Tesla in order to meet its goals.

Cybart noted that a brand and product alone was not enough for an Apple acquisition and that Apple did not use mergers and acquisitions to acquire revenue or users.

Cybart writes:

In essence, Apple isn't interested in buying its way into new product categories. Instead, Apple positions M&A as a tool to either enhance its existing product line or plug holes in the product development process.

Cybart did note that Apple would be very interested in the talent Tesla had in its many engineers, but that a much easier solution was to simply poach this talent, rather than buy the whole company. You can read the full report from 2018 here.

Cybart, noting Musk's penchant for outlandish tweeting, also noted that Musk "doesn't get along with Apple", which was worth noting when reading his tweet, and that it was possible that he simply "can't stand the attention Apple has been getting the past 24 hours."

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