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Buying Tesla at its current insane valuation would be a huge mistake for Apple and completely out of character for them. They didn't get their cash pile by bein

by IBM 13y ago

Buying Tesla at its current insane valuation would be a huge mistake for Apple and completely out of character for them. They didn't get their cash pile by being stupid with money. Following Google and others into the narrative of "acquisitions = innovation" is short sighted and will be seen as stupid once the current cycle is over.

adventured 13y ago
Fortunately there's no chance of Apple buying Tesla.
- toomuchtodo 13y ago
  Google could though. They have a ~400 billion dollar market cap, compared to TSLA's 24 billion. You don't even need to buy them outright; just buy a controlling interest.
  - nwh 13y ago
    If the articles I've read are to be believed, Apple has at least $150B in cash just lying around. Tesla wouldn't be a huge chunk of that if they were so inclined.
    - w1ntermute 13y ago
      Most of that $150B is sitting in overseas tax havens. Just repatriating it to buy Tesla would cost them a bundle.
      - dan1234 13y ago
        They'd likely take out loans if they needed the cash, rather than repatriating it as they'd get a better rate.
      - sjtgraham 13y ago
        Would it need to be repatriated to Apple Inc? Say for arguments sake Apple Sales International in Ireland (or any global subsidiary company) has enough cash on its books to buy Tesla. ASI is a separate legal entity from Apple Inc, albeit owned by it. Couldn't ASI de jure buy and control Tesla and Apple Inc de facto control it by virtue of controlling ASI? What counts as repatriation? I'm not sure, but it's very interesting.
      - IBM 13y ago
        Taxes won't stop any company from using their cash if they think the acquisition is important enough (using debt is also an option as well). That doesn't say anything about whether it's a stupid acquisition or not.
      - tazjin 13y ago
        Tax havens such as Germany, the UK, Sweden, Switzerland and dozens of other countries where Apple operates?
  - joakleaf 13y ago
    Eh… Goog is smaller than Aapl wrt. both market cap and cash. So if Google can, so can Apple ;-)

by IBM 13y ago

adventured 13y ago

Fortunately there's no chance of Apple buying Tesla.

toomuchtodo 13y ago
Google could though. They have a ~400 billion dollar market cap, compared to TSLA's 24 billion. You don't even need to buy them outright; just buy a controlling interest.
- nwh 13y ago
  If the articles I've read are to be believed, Apple has at least $150B in cash just lying around. Tesla wouldn't be a huge chunk of that if they were so inclined.
  - w1ntermute 13y ago
    Most of that $150B is sitting in overseas tax havens. Just repatriating it to buy Tesla would cost them a bundle.
    - dan1234 13y ago
      They'd likely take out loans if they needed the cash, rather than repatriating it as they'd get a better rate.
    - sjtgraham 13y ago
      Would it need to be repatriated to Apple Inc? Say for arguments sake Apple Sales International in Ireland (or any global subsidiary company) has enough cash on its books to buy Tesla. ASI is a separate legal entity from Apple Inc, albeit owned by it. Couldn't ASI de jure buy and control Tesla and Apple Inc de facto control it by virtue of controlling ASI? What counts as repatriation? I'm not sure, but it's very interesting.
    - IBM 13y ago
      Taxes won't stop any company from using their cash if they think the acquisition is important enough (using debt is also an option as well). That doesn't say anything about whether it's a stupid acquisition or not.
    - tazjin 13y ago
      Tax havens such as Germany, the UK, Sweden, Switzerland and dozens of other countries where Apple operates?
- joakleaf 13y ago
  Eh… Goog is smaller than Aapl wrt. both market cap and cash. So if Google can, so can Apple ;-)