Elon Musk could have replaced Tim Cook as Apple’s CEO, if a new report is to be believed.
The story, originally reported by the Los Angeles Times and originating from a book entitled Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century by The Wall Street Journal reporter Tim Higgins, claims that Musk demanded to become the next CEO of Apple in a 2016 phone call with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
According to the book, Cook suggested that Apple should acquire Tesla, and Musk responded that he should become CEO of Apple in exchange.
The book reports that a former aide who heard the story from Musk said that Cook said “f*** you” and then hung up the phone.
Both Musk and Apple have denied the story.
”Cook & I have never spoken or written to each other ever,” said Musk in a tweet yesterday.
Musk went on to say that he attempted to meet with Cook about the prospect of Apple acquiring Tesla, but Cook refused.
Apple, when asked for comment from the Verge, pointed to remarks Cook had made in an interview with The New York Times’ Kara Swisher, in which he denied having ever spoken to Elon.
“You know, I’ve never spoken to Elon, although I have great admiration and respect for the company he’s built,” Cook said in the interview.
“Higgins managed to make his book both false *and* boring,” Musk said in a tweet on Friday
In the book, Higgins writes Musk “was given numerous opportunities to comment on the stories, facts, and characterizations presented in these pages. Without pointing to any specific inaccuracies, he offered simply this: ‘Most, but not all, of what you read in this book is nonsense.’”
Higgins also said that Apple “was given several opportunities to comment prior publication and declined.”
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