Musk: Apple CEO didn't take meeting about buying Tesla

Musk: Apple CEO didn't take meeting about buying Tesla
In this Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award, in Berlin. In a tweet Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, Musk said he once considered selling the electric car maker to Apple, but the iPhone maker's CEO Tim Cook blew off the meeting. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he once considered selling the electric car maker to Apple, but the iPhone maker's CEO blew off the meeting.

In a tweet Tuesday, Musk said he reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook "to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (for one-tenth of our current value). He refused to take the meeting."

Tesla's is $616 billion, as of the close of trading Tuesday. One-tenth of that is $61.6 billion.

Musk said he sought out the meeting with Cook "during the darkest days of the Model 3 program," a reference to Tesla's first electric car designed for the mass market. As recently as 2018, Tesla was struggling to meet its vehicle production goals and turn a profit.

Tesla's fortunes have changed since then. The automaker is finally making money on a consistent basis after years of losses and continues to hit milestones for deliveries of its vehicles. Its shares have soared 665% this year alone, making it the world's most valuable automaker and among the top 10 biggest U.S. companies in the S&P 500 index, which Tesla entered on Monday.

Musk's tweet followed published reports suggesting Apple is working on developing its own electric cars.

Apple declined to comment.

Musk: Apple CEO didn't take meeting about buying Tesla
In this June 3, 2019, file photo, Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. In a tweet Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he once considered selling the electric car maker to Apple, but Cook blew off the meeting. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

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