Apple is considered to have made a big mistake by not buying the electric car company Tesla at a time when it was still not successful. If only they did, Apple would no longer have to bother getting into the electric vehicle business.
"This should be a market for Apple. Apple should have bought Tesla before, when they got the opportunity. We're glad they didn't," said Cathie Wood, analyst and financial manager quoted by CNBC.
Because they didn't buy a Tesla, Apple had to try it themselves. Apple has appointed project leader Kevin Lynch. He previously led the development of the Apple Watch.
Apple's target is to launch an autonomous electric car by 2025. This is faster than the original target of 5-7 years, as Apple has reportedly made important discoveries in its self-driving system and the car will be ready for trials.
As for the opportunity for Apple to buy a Tesla car, it happened about 5 years ago. In the book 'Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century' written by a Wall Street Journal reporter, it is stated that at that time, Elon Musk spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook via cellphone.
At that time, Tesla was experiencing quite a number of problems such as production delays and electric cars were not widely accepted. Well, Cook is said to want to buy a Tesla.
Elon replied that he would sell Tesla to Apple on one condition. "I'm the CEO," he was said to have said at the time. Cook was aware that Elon wanted to take over his position. Apple's transaction to buy Tesla never happened.
Last December, Elon Musk revealed that it was true he had considered selling Tesla to Apple when the company was struggling, but he denied having had direct discussions with Cook. "He refused to come to the meeting," said Elon.
