NEW YORK (AP) — Rumors have been swirling since news
broke this week of a possible meeting between Apple’s top executive for
acquisitions and the CEO of electric car maker Tesla.
Citing a
person familiar with the matter, The San Francisco Chronicle reported
Sunday that the get-together between Adrian Perica and Elon Musk took
place last spring. The companies haven’t commented on the report.
With
$158.8 billion in cash on its balance sheet, Apple certainly has the
money to buy Tesla, which has a market cap of about $24 billion.
Although
a pairing of the two companies is a likely long shot and far off at
best, it’s kind of fun to think about a car made the company that
brought us the iPhone and iPad. Here are a few ideas:
NAME —
There’s no question it would be called the iCar. With iPads, iPods and
iPhones on the market, do they really have a choice? New models to
follow could be called the iCar 2, iCar3, etc. Or the company could just
make an iCarS if it didn’t feel like making any real changes to the
product.
COLOR — Two words: Space Grey. Of course, there also
would be a hard-to-find gold-tone version and a slightly cheaper model
featuring a shiny plastic exterior that could come in an array of
eye-popping colors.
PLUG — Whatever it looks like, it’s sure to
differ from the one Tesla currently uses. After all, Apple can’t have
drivers re-using their current accessories.
APPS — The dashboard
of a Tesla already looks like a giant iPad. But in addition to the
latest version of iOS and Retina display, an Apple version could include
apps for podcasts, photos and of course iTunes and iTunes Radio. Want
to let your passengers binge watch the second season of "House of Cards"
as you blow down the freeway? Just fire up the Netflix app. And Candy
Crush Saga would come preinstalled to give you something to do while
waiting out traffic jams.
NAVIGATION — Google Maps? Forget about it. Apple Maps, all the way.
PRICE
— Probably a cut above what a Tesla currently sells for, but cheaper
with a two-year agreement. In this case, we’re probably talking about a
lease that includes a hefty breakup fee if you try to end it early, not
to mention the mother-of-all overage charges for driving more minutes
than you’re allowed.
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