Elon Musk wanted to take over as Apple CEO from Tim Cook if Tesla sold to Apple, new book says

‘SNL’: Elon Musk hosts, Miley Cyrus honors Dolly Parton, her godmotherElon Musk showed his funny side hosting “Saturday Night Live” but also caused a dip in the price of cryptocurrency Dogecoin.USA TODAY, WochitWhile some would compare Elon Musk to Steve Jobs because of their roles as technological visionaries, the Tesla CEO has never crossed over into the former Apple CEO’s field of consumer electronics, choosing instead to focus primarily on electric cars and rockets.But Musk’s career could have taken a much different direction. He once demanded to be CEO of Apple if he agreed to sell Tesla to the tech giant, according to a new book.Several years ago – long before Tesla’s ascent to its place as the world’s most valuable automaker on the stock market – the company’s success was far from guaranteed. At the same time, Apple was beginning to dabble in electric vehicle technology.That’s when then-Apple CEO Tim Cook, who succeeded Jobs, approached Musk with a proposal for Apple to acquire Tesla, according to an advance copy of “Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century,” a new book by Wall Street Journal reporter Tim Higgins.Got a car lease?: Your vehicle could be worth thousands of dollars more than expected because of COVID-19Consumer Reports: These are the 10 most and least reliable 2021 cars, trucks and SUVsMusk was intrigued and said that he wanted to be CEO – not just of Tesla as a subsidiary but of Apple as a whole if the deal went through, according to the advance copy.Cook dropped an expletive and hung up, Higgins wrote.The deal, of course, never happened.Representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment Friday.On Twitter, Musk denied the conversation happened.”Cook & I have never spoken or written to each other ever,” Musk wrote Friday.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.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2021He did acknowledge that at one point he approached Apple about the possibility of a sale of Tesla to the tech giant. The book also chronicles that development.An Apple representative had no immediate comment on the book on Friday.But in April 2021, Cook told New York Times journalist Kara Swisher: “You know, I’ve never spoken to Elon, although I have great admiration and respect for the company he’s built. I think Tesla has done an unbelievable job of not only establishing the lead but keeping the lead for such a long period of time in the EV space.”You can follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter here for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.


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