Apple's head of mergers and acquisitions met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk last spring around the same time a top analyst suggested the tech giant should acquire the electric car company, according to a report Sunday in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Citing a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect business relationships, the report says Apple's Adrian Perica met with Musk and "probably" Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif, in the spring of 2013. "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," the report said.
The story noted that the meeting came six months before Adnaan Ahman, an analyst for the German investment bank Berenberg, wrote an open letter to Cook and board director Al Gore in October of last year, asking the company to consider buying Tesla.
A spokeswoman for Tesla declined to comment. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
For the full report, read "Apple exploring cars, medical devices to reignite growth."