Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said Tuesday that during the “darkest days” of Model 3 production, he reached out to Apple about a possible sale.
Musk said Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook “refused” to take a meeting.
Musk offered the story in response to reports that the iPhone maker is seriously pursuing an all-electric passenger car. He pointed out that Tesla could have been acquired for one-tenth of its current value.
Musk previously said that Tesla was “single-digit weeks” away from failure when the company was trying to get a handle on Model 3 “production hell.” It’s interesting to learn that Musk so feared the company’s collapse that he reached out to a potential acquirer.
Obviously, Tesla corrected its path. Model 3 production is now humming and the company has since added a new vehicle with the Model Y. And, they’re confident enough with production that the company has three more vehicles in line.
Apple has been working on a car project since at least 2014. Dubbed “Project Titan,” the company explored building its own car from scratch. However, the company reportedly abandoned those efforts to focus on automotive software. In 2018, Apple tapped former Tesla employee Doug Field to manage the project and seems to have progressed far enough to excite the company about an actual car again.
Reuters reported this week that Apple hopes to bring a car to market by 2024. In addition to self-driving capabilities, the car is said to pack a “breakthrough battery technology.”
Last edited by a moderator: