Is Apple Going to Buy Tesla?

A report in the San Francisco Chronicle over the weekend claims Apple's head of acquisitions, Adrian Perica, met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in high-level talks in early 2013 to discuss a possible buyout.

The report re-ignites a debate first raised in August of 2013 when London-based financial analyst Andaan Ahmad wrote an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook urging him to buy the electric car maker.

Ahmad, an analyst with German investment bank Berenberg, argued that a move into the automotive sector could give Apple the kind of revenue growth it won't see in years to come from its iPhone and iPad range.

Medical devices

The report this weekend suggests that Apple is also strongly considering moving into the medical devices industry, "specifically sensor technology that can help predict heart attacks."

The charge into this new category is apparently being led by the man who invented THX and 10.2 surround sound, Tomlinson Holman. The renowned audio engineer is apparently looking into predicting heart attacks by monitoring the sound blood makes as it flows through your body.

These are both very exciting prospects, but are they actually ever going to happen?

Apple buying Tesla? Unlikely

Looking first at the potential acquisition of Tesla by Apple, it seems like a good match on the surface. Not only would it give Apple a much more sustainable long-term revenue stream, it would also give Tesla the profile it needs to gain a critical mass of sales so that it can roll out its supercharger network on a much wider scale.

The problem here is that Elon Musk doesn't seem like a man who would be happy to become just another Apple VP.

He is one of the most single-minded CEOs around, one who will stop at nothing to get his vision of the future becoming a reality - whether than's Space X, Hyperloop or Tesla.

Apple doesn't have any expertise in the automotive industry and aside from making the in-car infotainment a bit better, I can't see what vale the company bring to Musk's dream.

Apple predicting heart attacks? Possibly

As for the second rumour, this sounds like it is much more likely to result in an actual Apple product - or more precisely "in an actual Apple product."

Apple has been hiring a lot of high profile people lately, most of them to apparently work on its iWatch, the company's first foray into the wearables market.

There has been a lot of speculation that Apple's first wearable may tell the time, but it will be much, much more than simply another smartwatch.

Apple is expected to integrate a lot of health and fitness features into the device, and one which monitors your blood flow sounds like it would be ideal.

How exactly this would be implemented is of course unknown, but if/when Apple does launch its iWatch it will be looking to do something new, something different from just another smartwatch, and Holman's idea of predicting heart attacks using the sound of blood flow could be just one of those unique features.