Adrian Perica, the head of acquisitions for Apple, reportedly met with Tesla chief Elon Musk in the spring last year, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle. The report cited an unnamed source who said the two executives discussed a possible acquisition of the Tesla, wrote VentureBeat.

Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook was also rumored to be included in the said meeting. The speculation was further magnified after Europe-based financial analyst Andaan Ahmad published an open letter to Apple, advising the smartphone giant to either purchase or strike a partnership with the electric car maker, the report explained.

According to Ahmad, buying Tesla would give apple a bigger opportunity to make more money. He also said the income potential of this move would not be possible from the sale of mobile devices alone in the long run, the report explained.

If this rumor were true, Apple would not be the first smartphone company to venture into the auto industry. Google is also working on a self-driving vehicle. However, the search giant presently has no plans to bring the product into the market. Right now, testing self-driving cars is legal only in selected states. Selling them is not, the report stated.

Both Apple and Tesla declined to release comments on the acquisition rumors, VentureBeat reported.