After a Reuters report that Apple had revived Venture Titan — AKA the ‘Apple Automobile‘ — Tesla CEO Elon Musk determined to share an fascinating little bit of insider info to share. Apparently, “in the course of the darkest days” of growing the Mannequin 3, Musk reached out to Tim Cook dinner to debate Apple shopping for Tesla.
Cook dinner reportedly refused.
Throughout the darkest days of the Mannequin 3 program, I reached out to Tim Cook dinner to debate the potential for Apple buying Tesla (for 1/10 of our present worth). He refused to take the assembly.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 22, 2020
It’s shocking that Cook dinner would refuse to even meet, given Apple has been exhausting at work on self-driving AI for years. Musk’s feedback additionally appear to dispel any probability Apple would collaborate on self-driving tech with Tesla as effectively; rumors indicated there’s an opportunity Apple may promote or license its know-how reasonably than come out with a automobile altogether.
Musk additionally expressed doubt about claims within the Reuters report that Apple is engaged on a “monocell” battery; he claims it’s “electrochemically unattainable,” and urged the tech may as a substitute be nearer to Tesla’s structural battery pack the corporate mentioned on ‘Battery Day.’
Nonetheless, rather a lot may change between now and Apple’s rumored 2024 aim. In any case, it’s fascinating to know that in an alternate timeline, Tesla — which has typically been referred to as “the Apple of vehicles” — may have truly been owned by Apple.
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Revealed December 23, 2020 — 01:05 UTC