Apple has reportedly made moves to acquire car manufacturer Tesla, as part of its pursuit of revenue opportunities outside of its core tablet and smartphone business.
Apple senior executives met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk last spring, with sources telling the publication that merger talk was a topic of conversation, according to the San Francisco Chronicle,
Such an acquisition would allow Apple to make the transition into the connected cars market, which is a sector its arch-rival Google has made significant moves on in recent months.
As reported by IT Pro in January, the search giant has teamed up with Audi, Honda and Hyundai to create the Open Automotive Alliance, with the aim of shipping cars running the Android OS later this year.
At the time of writing, both Apple and Tesla were remaining tight-lipped about the reports, although an analyst talking to US news site CNBC rubbished the claims.
Peter Misek, a senior technology analyst at Jeffries, told the site there was "zero chance" of an Apple-Tesla merger taking place.
"I would put a lot of chance on collaboration," he added. "[Job's] departure has left a big gaping hole even now with all the talent they have at Apple, so they would certainly look to collaborations and Musk certainly fits that bill."
Despite this, the prospect of a merger between the two prompted Tesla's closing share price to sky-rocket to an all-time high of $203.70 on Monday.
