Elon Musk reveals Apple boss snubbed takeover deal during Tesla's 'darkest days'

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Web Desk
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Tesla founder Elon Musk has recently toppled Bill Gates to become the world’s second-richest person. Photo: AFP/File
  • Tesla founder Elon Musk says that Apple chief executive Tim Cook snubbed talks to take over the car company back in 2017
  • Tesla was valued at $60bn (£45bn), but it has now grown to be worth 10 times that amount
  • Musk has recently toppled Bill Gates to become the world’s second-richest person


Tesla founder Elon Musk, who has recently toppled Bill Gates to become the world’s second-richest person, has revealed that Apple chief executive Tim Cook snubbed talks to take over the car company back in 2017.

Musk said that he had reached out to the Apple boss during his company's "darkest days".

"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," the South African-born American entrepreneur wrote on Twitter.

According to a BBC report, at the time Tesla was valued at $60bn (£45bn), but it has now grown to be worth 10 times that amount.

Read more: Elon Musk topples Bill Gates to become world’s second-richest person

During that financial crunch, the businessman told his employees that its factory faced a period of "production hell".

He tweeted about sleeping on the roof of the factory as he tried to fix production bottlenecks weeks later.

Eventually, Tesla got over the financial crisis and has since posted a string of quarterly profits.

"This week, the electric carmaker became one of the most valuable companies to join the S&P 500 index," the report highlighted.