[arjunrc]

This maybe a ridiculous idea. But if Apple do want to acquire their way in to the Automobile industry, wouldn't it make sense to buy Tesla right now, at about $25 billion market cap.

One big hindrance that I see is Elon Musk, who IMO would not play second fiddle to anyone else.

A traditional automobile company might be a better solution, I would think. Someone like Jaguar-Land Rover given Jony Ive's background. Their market cap seems to be around $15 billion and they seem to lack an electric vehicle program (this could be where Apple comes in, with their battery expertise), unlike BMW, Daimler etc. who already have an electric cars in development/production.