Apple’s CEO ignored the meeting request to discuss Tesla sales, Musk says

Tesla VD Elon MuskElon Reeve MuskNASA chooses next Artemis moonwalkers while SpaceX flies a spaceship The SpaceX rocket explodes on impact after test flight, Musk still explains that it’s success The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – House bucks veto threat to approve defense bill as virus relief in limbo MORE said Tuesday that he once considered selling Tesla to Apple, but claimed that CEO Tim Cook “refused” to hold a meeting to discuss the sale.

Musk’s comments about sales during the “darkest days of the Model 3 program”, referring to Tesla’s first electric car designed for the mass market, were in response to a report on Apple’s goal of having its own self-driving cars on the market by 2024.

“During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, I contacted Tim Cook to discuss the possibility that Apple would acquire Tesla (for 1/10 of our current value). He refused to attend the meeting, “Musk tweeted.

Tesla had reportedly struggled to make a profit and reach its vehicle production targets in 2017 and 2018, but has since had a series of quarterly gains.

Tesla’s shares have risen 665 percent this year, making it the world’s most valuable carmaker. It is one of the ten largest US companies in the S&P 500 index, the Associated Press noted.

Apple revealed its efforts to develop self-driving car technology to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2016. The technology giant told the agency that they “invested heavily in machine learning and autonomous systems.”

Two unnamed sources familiar with Apple’s plans told Reuters that the technology giant aims to have its self-driving car on the market in four years and that it may include a new battery design that is optimized for longer range.

An Apple spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

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