They should at least consider a Joint Venture... I-Drive... I-Ford... I-FordApple... Although knowing Apple that last one wouldn't be considered since everything Apple relates is anything but affordable...
Throw a 4G sim into the car and sell them in your local phone shop, $99 per month, limited to 1000miles, 4 blasts of the horn, then charge $20 extra per mile, sorted!! How can Ford, which makes and sells you know, CARS all over the world, be worth less than someone who sells mobile phones, the world truely is nuts!!
My view is that it's less important now than 30 years ago. With the entire supply chain now outsourced Apple can plug into it just like tesla did. But to have a dealer network, engineering knowledge, and technology (no way ford isn't working on it) can be worth it. Apple can also buy Citigroup. Talk about adoption of Apple Pay!
There are very few examples of companies from two completely different verticals merging successfully. In fact, the research shows that almost all major mergers destroy value over the long run even companies in the same field. On the flip side, remember how the whole AOL/Time Warner thing went?
I would argue with that, of course, Ford has a lot of experience in producing internal combustion engines and vehicles , BUT Apple needs something different, they would definitely go with EV, and for that Ford doesn't have anything!
Maybe Elon Musk will hold a press conference and announce he's buying them both..... TSLA needs a little bump this week.