This might sound silly but I've been thinking the past few days, since CES actually. If MS can't get the ABK deal done...why not partner up with Tesla?
It really sounds like EV is going to become a big player of a market maybe 5-10 years from now. When high-performance supercar makers like Ferrari are investing in hybrid-electric exotic cars, you know there is a shift on the way. Sony are making big investments into that area right now with Honda on Afeela, they're getting a lot of valuable info that can be iterated on over time as the EV market grows.
Honestly, I think it has potential to have societal impact the way the iPhone did back in 2006. Just depends on what company has that breakout car model. I'm not really aware of what EV investments Microsoft has right now, but AFAIK, they have nothing on the level of what Sony & Honda have with Afeela. Tesla have a sort of partnership with Google in terms of Google hardware installed in Tesla cars, but there's nothing stopping Microsoft from offering a more comprehensive integrated package of Xbox, Windows, Office, Azure etc. with Tesla via some co-designed car model.
They obviously can't acquire Tesla (nor do I think many would want them to), but that $69 billion that would've been spent on ABK, why not refocus it to preparing for an ever-growing future in the EV industry? Microsoft have already missed out on multiple tech advances as a frontrunner in the past, from smartphones to movie/TV streaming (they had a TV/film download marketplace for 360 in 2006 but only capitalized on it with Netflix exclusivity...behind a paywall), etc. Why not try to be proactive and build towards an EV market future with a company like Tesla, instead of being reactive once that market finally reaches mainstream impact?
But that's just something I was thinking about past few days. And, probably only something they would be able to consider depending on how this ABK deal goes or if it doesn't go through. I would see it more as a partnership between MS and Tesla making a new EV with integrated MS tech (like built-in Series S & X consoles), maybe wouldn't be something ready for a good 5 years but like Sony, it could be a good growth market for a company like Microsoft. I'm just saying, if the ABK deal fails, that frees up a lot of funding budget they could allocate towards EV tech and features alongside a company already in that market (I use Telsa as an obvious go-to example, but there are other car brands investing into EV themselves).
Honestly I see MS doing something like that regardless how the ABK deal goes, I just think IF the deal fails, they won't be chunking anywhere near $69 billion ever again for something primarily driven for Xbox/Game Pass or bumping up their gaming revenue. Other parts of the company will forever take priority in spending/funding money that large going forward, and I can see the Xbox division's funding (including money for acquisitions) reduced significantly as a result. Which frees up that money for other things, like EV investments and partnerships.
