Elon Musk: Apple Could Have Bought Tesla

But Tim Cook wouldn't meet with him, Musk says
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 23, 2020 12:01 AM CST
Elon Musk Reveals Apple Could Have Bought Tesla
In this Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award, in Berlin.   (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Apple is reportedly working on its own electric car, but it apparently could have owned Tesla. Elon Musk on Tuesday revealed that, "during the darkest days of the Model 3 program," he tried to sell his company to Apple. "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," Musk tweeted in response to a thread regarding Apple's "iCar" plans.

The BBC pegs the Apple move as having happened in 2017, when Tesla was worth $60 billion and was experiencing production issues. The Guardian notes another story from 2013, when, "amid problems with early sales," Musk struck a "handshake deal" for Google to purchase Tesla in an attempt to save the company. The deal ended up getting canceled after sales started coming in. (More Elon Musk stories.)

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