Apple was at one point considering buying electric auto maker Tesla, a report from the San Francisco Chronicle suggests. The paper cites a source who says that in April of 2013, Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with Apple’s head of acquisitions — Adrian Perica — at the company’s Cupertino headquarters. It’s speculated that he might also have met with Apple CEO Tim Cook, a strong possibility given Musk’s importance, especially if the two companies were exploring a buyout.
An alternative is that Apple was simply investigating a deal to integrate iOS support into Tesla vehicles, although the direct involvement of Musk and Perica may cast doubt on that idea. Tesla’s cars use oversized touchscreens in place of normal dash controls, which might make them both a natural target and a challenge for iOS in the Car support. It’s unknown if the two companies have forged any sort of deal.
Elsewhere in the report, the Chronicle says that with the help of THX creator Tomlinson Holman — who joined Apple in 2011 — the company has been exploring ways of predicting heart attacks through noise “turbulence” in blood flow. Blood flowing through congested arteries makes a different sound, and Apple is said to be interested in developing sensors and software that can pick this up. The technology would presumably be integrated into the iWatch, which is expected to monitor a range of health and fitness statistics.
