Billionaire Elon Musk responded last night, in a series of tweets on his Twitter account, to reports that Apple has renewed its plan to develop an electric autonomous car, and intends to launch one as early as 2024. He claimed on his Twitter account that he contacted Tim Cook and offered to purchase Tesla. “During the most difficult period of developing Tesla’s Model 3, I approached Tim Cook to discuss the possibility that Apple would acquire Tesla for a tenth of its current value. It refused to make an appointment,” Musk wrote on Twitter last night.
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
It is not clear at what time Musk tried to open talks with Apple, but the development of Model 3 continued between 2017 and 2019, so it can be estimated that the referral was made during those years. Tesla is now worth more than $ 600 billion, after joining the S&P 500, so the price offered to Apple is probably about $ 60 billion.
As mentioned, according to reports, Apple has decided to revive its electric car manufacturing project, which began in 2014 and was shelved. .
About two years ago, the company’s autonomous vehicle was involved in a car accident. Technology giant executives have never publicly confirmed that they are developing an autonomous vehicle, but documents revealed in court have revealed that at least 5,000 of the company’s employees are involved in the project, and that, among other things, various circles related to autonomous vehicles are being developed. The drivers and passengers were not injured, but both vehicles were damaged in the accident, according to the police report.