Elon Musk Reportedly Demanded to Become Apple CEO as Part of Potential Tesla Acquisition [Update: Musk Denies]

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly once demanded that he be made Apple CEO in a brief discussion of a potential acquisition with Apple's current CEO, Tim Cook. The claim comes in a new book titled "Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century," as reviewed by The Los Angeles Times.

REC ASA CODE2016 20160601 205816 2745
According to the book, during a 2016 phone call between Musk and Cook that touched on the possibility of Apple purchasing Tesla, Musk told Cook that a purchase of Telsa by Apple could only go forward if he became CEO of the combined company.

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.

Elon Musk has previously claimed that he once reached out to Tim Cook to "discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla." Cook, according to Musk, declined to take the meeting. The new book claims that while a meeting never took place, a phone call between the two CEOs did. It is worth noting, however, that during an interview with The New York Times' Kara Swisher in April, Cook said he had never spoken to Musk but has "great admiration and respect" for Tesla.

Update: In a tweet, Elon Musk is denying the contents of the book, calling it both "false and boring."

Update 2: Musk has shared another tweet explicitly denying that he and Cook have ever spoken or written to each other, reiterating his statements from months ago that he had at one point requested a meeting with Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla but that Cook refused the meeting.

Top Rated Comments

iamMacPerson Avatar
35 months ago

“F— you” Cook says, and hangs up.
Honestly I would’ve said and done the same thing
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Motionblurrr Avatar
35 months ago
Lmao, Tim Cook is a savage. Steve Jobs was very adamant to have him as next CEO before he passed, for good reason. Other CEOs would’ve either caved or reject him nicely.

Elon Musk is nothing but a tech conman. He peddles his half baked garbage to the tech nerds with deep wallets. He’s not funny at all and using 14 year old memes isn’t a personality.

“F— you” - Tim Cook lmao
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mad4WDW Avatar
35 months ago
Defo lies. It would've been Duck You
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
masteroflondon Avatar
35 months ago
Anyone else I'd refuse to believe this, but Elon Musk? Maybe it's true. In which case there is not enough laughter in the world to respond to this demand.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theapplehead Avatar
35 months ago

Tim Cook said the f word ???. He was right to hang up on him.
I swear Musk was just screwing with Cook. He never would’ve sold Tesla and that was his was of saying it
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zmmyt Avatar
35 months ago
If true I'm glad this didn't happen. I like reading about any Apple related news and rumours. I can't imagine seeing or listening to Musk any more than I already have to.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...