Investors suggest Apple buy Tesla at annual shareholder meeting

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Would Apple consider acquiring electric car-maker Tesla? That was the question posed to Tim Cook by two Apple investors during the company’s annual shareholder meeting today. And as you’d imagine, the chief executive gracefully deflected the question.

Recode attended the meeting, and noted Cook responded to the query by talking about CarPlay and its 40+ model rollout this year. “Was that a good way to avoid the question?” When pressed he joked, “let me think if there’s another way to give a non-answer.”

Cook’s evasiveness, as opposed to giving a flat-out “no,” will likely further fuel speculation that Apple is looking to take its automotive ambitions beyond the dashboard. In February, Bloomberg reported that the Cupertino firm hopes to launch its own car by 2020.

The Tesla buyout theory has popped up several times in Apple Car conjecture, given its position in the market, and the similarities between the two companies. In fact, Elon Musk confirmed last year he met with Apple’s mergers and acquisitions chief Adrian Perica.

As for the rest of the shareholder meeting, it was pretty uneventful. The Board of Directors were all reelected to their positions, with 95% voting in favor, and a handful of amendment proposals were shot down—including one on disclosing “Green” energy spending.

Source: Recode