There has been a lot of speculation about Apple buying Tesla. While the mixture may be intriguing, Apple should bear in mind Warren Buffet’s warning that no asset is so good you cannot overpay for it. At a market cap of over $61 billion Tesla is already very richly priced without adding an acquisition premium.
So if Apple wants to buy a car company, why not Ford? Ford’s market cap is only $41 billion – much less than Tesla and a pittance compared to Apple’s cash. Plus Ford makes and sells a wide variety of vehicles all of which could benefit from Apple’s technology.
Admittedly, Ford has a lot more debt than Tesla but the interest payments would be no sweat for Apple.
In short, if Apple wants to buy a car company why not buy one that makes a lot of cars and sells for a low price. For that matter, Apple could even consider GM.
