Elon Musk Purportedly Demanded to Become Apple’s CEO During Tesla Acquisition Talks
Tesla CEO Elon Musk purportedly demanded that he be made CEO of Apple during acquisition talks with the company.
The demand was allegedly made during a phone conversation between Cook and Musk, according to the new book “Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century” from Tim Higgins.
A snippet from the book was shared by the Los Angeles Times today…
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Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk are talking on the phone. The 2016 unveiling of the make-it-or-break-it Model 3 is coming soon, but Tesla is in serious financial trouble. Cook has an idea: Apple buys Tesla.
Musk is interested, but one condition: “I’m CEO.”
Sure, says Cook. When Apple bought Beats in 2014, it kept on the founders, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.
No, Musk says. Apple. Apple CEO.
“F— you” Cook says, and hangs up.
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The story seems unreal and according to Musk, it is. Today he tweeted…
Cook & I have never spoken or written to each other ever.
There was a point where I requested to meet with Cook to talk about Apple buying Tesla. There were no conditions of acquisition proposed whatsoever.
He refused to meet. Tesla was worth about 6% of today’s value.
Musk also said Higgins’ book is both false and boring.
Higgins managed to make his book both false *and* boring
Finally, Tim Cook himself has said that he’s never spoken to Musk.
“You know, I’ve never spoken to Elon, although I have great admiration and respect for the company he’s built.”
If you still want to read “Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century”, you can purchase it from the link below in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.
