Musk has said that he’s open to the idea of a merger in the future.
Tesla’s market cap is an estimated $540 billion, which would make any purchase easy.
It was earlier this week, at a conference, that Elon Musk, the man who needs no title, mentioned that he would be open to working out a dealer with another automaker. As Tesla is an aspirational brand, the best fit would likely be an established luxury brand.
Skimming over most mainstream brands is easy enough, including Ford and GM in the USA. Reuters estimates that BMW would match up nicely with Tesla for its recognized driving dynamics however being owned by a family would likely rule out a takeover.
With Korean and Japanese car companies off the table, based on past transaction histories, that leaves Volkswagen (Audi and others) and Daimler. As Volkswagen is already fully invested in EVs itself, Tesla could find a match in Mercedes-Benz.
According to the report, Tesla could take serious advantage of its established global presence and increase output fourfold. It wouldn’t be an easy task mind you as Tesla and Musk would have to deal with the constraints of a German governance structure.
Daimler is currently evaluated at $74 billion which, under US stock exchange rules, means that Tesla would only need stockholder approval to spend up to $100 billion, or even more. Tesla is worth an estimated $540 billion, remember.