There’s more to that story, Higgins writes in the book. In 2016, Musk and Cook were talking seriously about an Apple merger, but all came to an end when Musk named his condition for the deal to go through. He would be made Apple CEO in Cook’s place. Cook’s response to that, according to the book, was “F**k you” and a slammed phone. *Cue dramatic music.
This isn’t just false but downright “boring,” Musk says on Twitter. Yes, the scene plays out like a movie cliché, but it’s not true: Musk and Cook never met and never spoke, the Tesla CEO says, setting the record straight. There were talks of a possible merger, back when Tesla’s worth was 6% of what it is now, but they never amounted to much because Cook wouldn’t speak to Musk.
According to Bloomberg, Apple has also issued a denial of the new story, referring to a recent comment from Cook in which he clearly states never having spoken to Musk.
This would sound like Higgins is lying or, at best, dramatizing real events to get more attention – like those “based on a true story” movies do, if you’re down for the comparison. Perhaps anticipating denials from directly involved parties, Higgins included separate notes in the book saying that both Musk and Apple refused to comment on events described within. Musk only said that “Most, but not all, of what you read in this book is nonsense,” but he never got into specifics.
And another perspective: Tim Cook said he has never actually spoken to Elon Musk: “You know, I’ve never spoken to Elon, although I have great admiration and respect for the company he’s built.” https://t.co/Wtp8DiQ4OQ https://t.co/sl4AxgX22s
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) July 30, 2021
Higgins managed to make his book both false *and* boring ????????
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2021
Indeed. Both Cook & I have been clear publicly that we have never spoken or otherwise communicated. I tried to speak to him & he declined.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2021
Nor have I ever expressed any interest in running Apple to anyone. Cook is, all things considered, obviously doing an incredible job.