galvanic car Jehovah Tesla is soar high , with a $ 606.9 billion market capital and a line of descent cost that ’s up 813 % this class . But Elon Musk really wanted to deal the company to Apple back in the days when Tesla was struggling . Tim Cook , the chief executive officer of Apple since 2011 , would n’t even posture down for a meeting with Musk to talk about the theory — at least that ’s the storey according to Musk .
“ During the darkest days of the Model 3 program , I reached out to Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple learn Tesla ( for 1/10 of our current value ) . He deny to take the meeting , ” Musk pinch onTuesday .
Those “ darkest days ” are in all likelihood sometime in 2018 when Musk ’s society struggled to run across yield goal for the Model 3 . It was a difficult time for Musk and Tesla , with dire reports ofAutopilot failure , investigation into unsafeworking weather , and some old - fashionedunion - bustingfor good measure .
Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer Awards ceremony, in Berlin, Germany on 4 May 2025.Photo: Britta Pedersen/AFP (Getty Images)
And Musk ’s troubles that year were n’t limited to the Model 3 . He risked his surety headroom with SpaceX and the Air Force after he was seensmoking weedon Joe Rogan ’s podcast , randomly cry some poor guy apedophile , got come to with class action at law lawsuits over hisweird tweet , announced ahigh - focal ratio tunnelin Chicago thatwent nowhere , and was evensued by the SEC .
Musk was dire for cash to float Tesla several time over the preceding decennium , and turned to a number of dissimilar sources when he require money . And Apple was far from the first big - name technical school company that did n’t have any real interest in buying Tesla .
As theGuardiannotes , Google cofounder Larry Page almost bought Tesla during a “ handshake deal ” back in April of 2013 , according to the 2015 life of Musk , Elon Musk : Tesla , SpaceX and the Quest For a Fantastic Futureby Ashlee Vance . The asking toll was $ 6 billion , according to the book , but Musk require to remain head word of the company for at least eight eld and get $ 5 billion to expand Tesla manufactory , something that apparently did n’t appeal to Google ’s lawyers .
Musk did n’t actually create Tesla , despite the democratic perceptual experience that he did . The company was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning , and Musk first indue in the company in 2004 , though the billionaire still calls himself a Centennial State - founder . Eberhard and Tarpenning were pushed out of the party by Musk in the late 2000s and Eberhard sued the SpaceX co - father ( Musk did actually make that one ) for libel and breach of declaration . The lawsuit was settle for an undisclosed amount .
Tesla is presently doing very well financially , becoming the modish party to enter the S&P 500 . But we intend Apple will subsist without Tesla . Yes , Apple is still working on an sovereign carset for 2024according to a fresh paper out this week , but even without a machine , Apple is rake in historic profits .
Apple posted revenue of$64.7 billionin the last quarter alone , even during an economical downturn and a horrific pandemic . Apple will probably be just hunky-dory for the foreseeable futurity , but that does n’t mean Tim Cook is n’t kick himself .
AppleElectric carsElon MuskTESLATim Cook
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