There was once a time when tech pioneer and entrepreneur Elon Musk seriously contemplated selling his electric car business Tesla to none other than Apple. However, Musk eventually didn’t go ahead with that strategy, but it’s hard to imagine the logo of an Apple on the hood of Tesla Roadster.
Replying to a Twitter thread that cited an article on Apple looking to produce an electric vehicle by 2024, Musk reported that he actually reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook during the most difficult days of the Model 3 program to discuss whether he would be interested in acquiring Tesla.
“During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, I reached out to Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (for 1/10 of our current value),” the Tesla CEO said.
However, Apple CEO refused to take the offer, hence ended any possibility of Apple obtaining Tesla. “He refused to take the meeting,” Musk added.
During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, I reached out to Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (for 1/10 of our current value). He refused to take the meeting.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 22, 2020
The rest is history, of course. Tesla is worth over $600 billion now, and the increase in its value has played a major role in making Musk the world’s second-richest man, behind Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Over recent years, much of Tesla’s rise in market value can be attributed to young, environment-conscious investors rallying behind Tesla’s goods and its contentious CEO.
There is every reason to expect that Tesla will face competition from none other than Apple itself in the near future as Apple is planning to launch its own version of electric call in 2024. The iPhone manufacturer is working on a new design of batteries that could “radically” minimize battery costs and increase the range of the car.
