Following increasing rumors of Apple entering the electric car market, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken to Twitter to reveal that things could have been a lot easier for the computer company if Tim Cook had just made some time to hear what he had to say. Musk claims that he had actually considered selling Tesla to Apple in recent years, but that Cook “refused” to meet up with him.
“During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, I reached out to Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (for 1/10 of our current value),” Musk tweeted. “He refused to take the meeting.”
Oops. Now that Tesla is a bona fide success and the poster child for premium electric vehicles, the chances of a future acquisition by Apple seems slim to none, but it’s interesting to think about how Musk’s company might have turned out under the control of an entity whose expertise lies mainly in smartphones and PCs. The Model S, Model 3, and other vehicles could have turned out looking completely different.
Musk also threw cold water on Reuters’ Apple Car report from yesterday, which claimed that the vehicle would utilize a “monocell” battery. This radical design purportedly allows more material to be packed in the battery for an even more impressive range.
“A monocell is electrochemically impossible, as max voltage is ~100X too low,” he argued. “Maybe they meant cells bonded together, like our structural battery pack?”
During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, 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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 22, 2020