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Liam Denning

Apple Somehow Survived, Nay Thrived, After Not Buying Tesla

The iPhone maker has more than enough capital and R&D to make a splash in the auto business.

Tim Cook, soldiering on. — Tim Cook, soldiering on.
Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images North America

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December 23, 2020, 3:47 PM UTC

Tim Cook must be gutted.

What that chart doesn’t quite capture, of course, is that Apple Inc.’s CEO apparently had the chance to buy Tesla Inc. sometime back when the electric-car maker was valued at only a tenth of what it is today. This news surfaced like an early Christmas present after Reuters reported Apple has revived its electric and autonomous car ambitions, aiming to produce a model by 2024.