Elon Musk says it’s “very unlikely” that Tesla will be sold to another company

Feb 20, 2014 13:16 GMT  ·  By

Speaking to Bloomberg TV, a somewhat agitated Elon Musk confirmed talks with Apple Inc. but declined to say what those discussions were about.

Pressed to confirm the media’s speculations that Apple had considered to buy Tesla, Musk said in a trembling voice, “If one or more companies had approached us last year about such things there's no way we could really comment on that.

“We had conversations with Apple, I can't comment on whether those revolved around any kind of acquisition,” he said.

Musk gives the impression that he feels somewhat embarrassed and nervous to talk about the rumored meeting. He has numerous gaps in his speech and laughs to evade answers, suggesting he knows a lot more than he’s allowed to talk about.

He’s not supposed to confirm these talks, that much is a given, but he’s not doing a very good job denying them either.

He also offers this extremely ambiguous answer to the simple question, “Are you for sale?”

“If there was a scenario where it seemed like it would be more likely that we would be able to create the mass market sort of affordable, compelling car then possibly it would make sense to entertain those discussions. I don't currently see any scenario that would improve that probability, so that's why I think it's very unlikely.”

Well, Facebook acquiring WhatsApp for the cost of a manned mission to Mars is something we’d certainly have chalked up as unlikely yesterday morning. But 24 hours and 19 billion dollars later, things took quite a dramatic turn.

In that respect, it seems that any discussions Tesla may have had with Apple hit a roadblock somewhere.

And I’m not getting these vibes from the interview transcript (which is certainly enough to give anyone that impression), but form Musk’s trembling, agitated answers. Hear the guy out. It's a typical case of Lie to Me.

Disclaimer

This is a Personal Thoughts piece reflecting the author’s personal opinion on matters relating to Apple and / or the products associated with the Apple brand. This article should not be taken as the official stance of Softpedia on Apple-related matters.