Apple Reportedly Bid To Buy Tesla Back In 2013

Apple allegedly placed a lucrative bid to buy electric car manufacturer Tesla back in 2013 but the acquisition never came to fruition.

Speaking with CNBC, Roth Capital Partners analyst Craig Irwin revealed that Apple made a bid for Tesla of around $240 a share. While shares in the car manufacturer almost hit $400 a few years after this bid from Apple, they have slumped to $197.76 at the start of trading on Tuesday this week.

“Around 2013, there was a serious bid from Apple at around $240 a share. This is something we did multiple checks on. I have complete confidence that this is accurate,” Irwin said. “Apple bid for Tesla. I don’t know if it got to a formal paperwork stage, but I know from multiple different sources that this was very credible.”

Also Read: Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Says He Doesn’t Believe Anything Tesla Says

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of a potential tie-up between Apple and Tesla. In 2014, it was reported that Tesla chief executive Elon Musk met with Apple’s head of mergers and acquisitions as well as Apple chief executive Tim Cook. It is claimed that one of the reasons a deal was never secured is that Apple wanted Elon Musk to step away from Tesla, something which he wasn’t prepared to do.

Apple has been very eager to make its presence known in the automotive world for a number of years but plans have yet to materialize. At one stage, it was believed that the technology company was developing its very own electric vehicle but it’s now thought to be powering ahead with plans to only develop autonomous driving systems.

Carscoops has contacted Tesla to see if we can get any more details about the supposed bid from Apple.