Elon Musk Claims He Once Reached Out to Tim Cook About Tesla Purchase But Was Refused Meeting

Tesla CEO Elon Musk today said on Twitter that he once reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook about the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla, but Cook "refused to take the meeting." Musk says that he attempted to contact Apple during the "darkest days of the Model 3 program," offering Tesla for 1/10 of its value.

tesla
Musk's tweet came in response to Reuters' recent report about Apple's work on an upcoming Apple Car.


According to Reuters, Apple is aiming to begin production on an Apple Car by 2024, using "next-level" battery technology that involves a "monocell" design that bulks up individual battery cells and frees up space inside the battery pack by removing pouches and modules that hold battery materials. Apple is also planning to use lithium iron phosphate battery technology.

Musk in a separate tweet said that the Apple Car rumors are "strange if true" and that a monocell design is "electrochemically impossible."


There have been rumors that Apple once considered a purchase of Tesla and made a "serious bid" of $240 per share back in 2013, but given Musk's comments, that may not be accurate.

Apple and Tesla have been at odds since Apple started working on the Apple Car project and have notoriously poached employees from one another. In 2015, in fact, Musk said that he calls Apple the "Tesla Graveyard." "If you don't make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple," he said.

If and when Apple does start manufacturing a car aimed at consumers, Tesla and Apple will be direct competitors. That could happen as early as 2024 or 2025 if Apple's work on an Apple Car stays on track.

Tag: Tesla

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...

Top Rated Comments

JuicyJones Avatar
63 months ago
Elon Musk says a lot of things...
Score: 93 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kaycrystal626 Avatar
63 months ago
Thank goodness Apple didn't buy Tesla. Otherwise, Tesla cars will cost twice as much.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nikster0029 Avatar
63 months ago
Tim Cook is great at supply chain logistics (not this year), but also not that great when it comes to thinking outside the box
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Maconplasma Avatar
63 months ago

big blunder by Tim Cook. oof.
And how is this a blunder? Apple is far wealthier than Tesla. Just because Telsa reaches out Apple to purchase the company doesn't mean Apple has to do it. Apple doesn't need Tesla to build cars.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PickUrPoison Avatar
63 months ago

big blunder by Tim Cook. oof.
Not at all. No point in buying Tesla, just like there’s no point in buying Netflix.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DelayedGratificationGene Avatar
63 months ago

big blunder by Tim Cook. oof.
Nope. Smart move by Tim. Cash burning Tesla who’s only profit is related to selling electric vehicle credits to other auto companies which will go away. Stock price is irrational exuberance and does not correctly value Tesla fundamentals.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)