DaveChapin:

Maybe now finally Apple will buy them. The growth seed is there. They just need capital. And Apple needs the next big thing and has more capital than they know what to do with

Still significantly overvalued plus Apple never paid anywhere as much for any acquisition.  Beats, which Apple overpaid, is the highest paid, at a mere $3 billion.  Tesla becomes a viable acquisition at $10-15 billion but that valuation indicates that the company is quickly entering receivership.  Tesla has a debt overhang with $1 billion due within one year, the sums escalate over the next five years.  However, the company has accounts payable of $2.4 billion and if those suppliers become skittish of Tesla’s financial situation and demand cash on deliver, the company is finished.   This is what happened most recently at Toys R Us.

A better plan for Apple to enter the EV market is to acquire a startup, for example SF Motors, a Chinese sponsored company which was started by the two original Tesla founders, one remains with the company.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2018/03/28/china-backed-sf-motors-debuts-electric-suvs-as-rival-tesla-hits-rocky-patch/#48db654e199a

Another potential target is Lucid Motors.