---
title: "Elon Musk Is Setting the Record Straight on Rumors Regarding a Major Tesla Collaboration"
description: "Hear details on a potential pairing straight from the CEO’s mouth."
date: "2017-05-04"
modified: "2017-05-04"
authors:
  - name: "Dom Galeon"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/domgaleon"
url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-is-setting-the-record-straight-on-rumors-regarding-a-major-tesla-collaboration"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Tesla"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "apple"
  - "Autonomous vehicles"
  - "elon musk"
  - "tesla"
---

# Elon Musk Is Setting the Record Straight on Rumors Regarding a Major Tesla Collaboration

![apple tesla elon musk autonomous vehicles](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/tesla-engineers-wont-stop-leaving-the-company-for-the-competition.jpeg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.tesla.com/presskit" target="\_blank"\>Tesla\</a\>\</em\>*

## Highly Unlikely

Back in 2015, [an investor made a bold claim](<https://futurism.com/investor-jason-calcaniss-prediction-apple-will-buy-tesla-for-75b-in-18-months>) that [Apple](<https://www.apple.com/>) would buy [Tesla](<https://www.tesla.com/>) within 18 months. It's been more than two years since that prediction was made, and Tesla and Apple are still independent entities — and it looks like they will stay that way.

During yesterday's first-quarter earnings call with investors, Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared his thoughts on the chances of Tesla working with Apple on an electric car. "Yeah, I don’t think they want to have that conversation," [he said, according to *Business Insider*](<http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-apple-doesnt-want-to-work-with-tesla-on-a-car-2017-5>). "I’ve at least not heard any indication that they do."

Musk was reiterating a point he made back in February in [an interview with *Bloomberg*](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/b/1df875df-fb0c-4020-bec7-e1f36cf299e3>) about how a merger with Apple was highly unlikely: "I’d be very concerned in any kind of acquisition scenario, whoever it is, that we would become distracted from that task which has always been the driving goal of Tesla."

## Their Own Separate Ways...and Cars?

Analysts and journalists have made comments about how a merger or [a collaboration with Apple would be beneficial for Tesla](<https://futurism.com/why-apple-should-buy-tesla-and-make-elon-musk-ceo>) and vice versa. Tesla, largely due to Musk, has the innovative mind that [Apple seems to sorely lack these days](<https://www.forbes.com/sites/theopriestley/2015/09/10/apples-core-problem-is-that-it-can-no-longer-innovate/#5ffa269766b5>). At the same time, Apple has the earnings and capital that Tesla is arguably in need of.

https://youtu.be/xojhlhPSs6E

Hopes for such a pairing, which has the potential to be one of the best combos in the tech industry, have been fueled by Apple's recent progress in the autonomous vehicle game. The Cupertino-based company has already [received approval to test self-driving vehicles on California roads](<https://futurism.com/apple-just-got-approved-to-test-its-autonomous-cars-on-real-roads>), which was confirmation that [Apple is working on an autonomous car](<https://futurism.com/rumors-of-an-autonomous-apple-vehicle-surface-again>). Tesla is also busy working on its newest electric vehicle, the Model 3, with [production well on its way](<https://futurism.com/leaked-photos-from-tesla-show-the-alien-robots-that-will-build-model-3s>) and [a final unveiling slated for July](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-finally-announced-a-release-date-for-the-model-3>).

For now, Apple and Tesla seem content to continue forging their own paths with separate vehicles, but whether those paths will intersect in the future is anybody's guess.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-john-galeon-9b086925/>)  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/domgaleon>)