Elon Musk wanted to be Apple CEO, but Tim Cook dropped an F bomb on that idea [U: Musk denies]
Update: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is denying that this interaction ever took place. He wrote on Twitter today that he and Cook have never spoken or written to each other. “There was a point where I requested to meet with Cook to talk about Apple buying Tesla. There were no conditions of acquisition proposed whatsoever. He refused to meet,” Musk says.
The history between Tesla and Apple, and between Tim Cook and Elon Musk, varies depending on who you talk to. At one point, Musk claimed to have reached out to Cook about selling Tesla to Apple, but Cook refused to even take a meeting. Cook, on the other hand, claims to have never spoken to Musk.
Now, Wall Street Journal reporter Tim Higgins is out with a new book next month called Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century, and it recounts an expletive-ridden conversation between Cook and Musk about Apple acquiring Tesla.
As detailed in a review of the book published today by the Los Angeles Times, Cook and Musk were reportedly on the phone discussing Tesla’s unveiling of the Model 3, and the struggles that went along with it. Cook suggested that Apple buy Tesla.
Musk was reportedly interested in this proposition, but on one condition: He serves as CEO not of Tesla, but of Apple entirely. “F– you,” Cook reportedly responded before immediately hanging up the call.
Cook apparently thought that Musk was saying he simply wanted to remain CEO of Tesla through the acquisition, not become CEO of Apple entirely.
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk are talking on the phone. The 2016 unveiling of the make-it-or-break-it Model 3 is coming soon, but Tesla is in serious financial trouble. Cook has an idea: Apple buys Tesla.
Musk is interested, but one condition: “I’m CEO.”
Sure, says Cook. When Apple bought Beats in 2014, it kept on the founders, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.
No, Musk says. Apple. Apple CEO.
“F— you” Cook says, and hangs up.
When asked in a recent interview about his relationship with Musk, Tim Cook explained that while he’s “never spoken to Elon,” he has “great admiration and respect” for Tesla. Apple has also hired a number of employees from Tesla over the years, leading Musk to at one point refer to Apple as the “Tesla graveyard.”
Apple is in the midst of its efforts to build an electric car of some sort, which presumably would compete directly with Tesla.
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Entertainment
Pamela Anderson praised by Jamie Lee Curtis for makeup-free appearance at Paris Fashion Week
Jamie Lee Curtis has praised Pamela Anderson for showing up to Paris Fashion Week with no makeup on, crediting her with kicking off a “natural beauty revolution”.
The Oscar-winning actress shared two pictures of the Baywatch star looking fresh-faced on Instagram.
Pic: REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Curtis wrote: “THE NATURAL BEAUTY REVOLUTION HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!
“Pamela Anderson in the middle of fashion week with so many pressures and postures, and and and, this woman showed up and claimed her seat at the table with nothing on her face.
“I am so impressed and floored by this act of courage and rebellion.”
Actress Selma Blair commented “Love this. Beautiful self-assuredness,” while comedian Chelsea Handler wrote, “That’s pretty iconic”.
Michelle Visage added, “And she was GLOWING”.
The images of Anderson were taken on Thursday at the Isabel Marant Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 show at Place Colette during Paris Fashion Week.
She also attended the Victoria Beckham show the following day.
Anderson, 56, who in her youth embraced cosmetic enhancements to the extreme, has since adopted a more natural look.
She told Elle last year that started going makeup-free after her makeup artist Alexis Vogel sadly died from breast cancer.
Anderson said: “She was the best. And since then, I just felt, without Alexis, it’s just better for me not to wear makeup.”
Calling her low-maintenance approach “freeing, and fun, and a little rebellious,” she went on to joke about “the effects of time, which come to us all”.
She said: “I think we all start looking a little funny when we get older. And I’m kind of laughing at myself when I look at the mirror. I go: ‘Wow, this is really…what’s happening to me?’ It’s a journey’,” she said. “I feel rooted for. I feel good. I’m in a good place.”
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Meanwhile Curtis has long been a fan of growing old gracefully.
During a conversation with Maria Shriver for the Radically Reframing Ageing Summit in March 2022, she said: “I am an advocate now for natural beauty because I do feel that there has been a genocide on natural beauty.
“This word ‘anti-ageing’ has to be struck, because what the f*** is ‘anti-ageing?’ I am pro-ageing. I want to age with intelligence and grace and dignity and verve and energy. I don’t want to hide from it.”
Alternative Indie band Easy Life say they have been left “virtually powerless” as they face a lawsuit over their name by the holding group behind easyJet – whose founder has called the musicians “brand thieves”.
The critically acclaimed Leicester band, who formed in 2017 and have had two Top 10 albums, say they are being forced to change their name “or take up a costly legal battle which we could never afford”.
Responding to a request from Sky News for comment, founder and chairman Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou described Easy Life frontman Murray Matravers as a “brand thief”. He added that his company has “a long established record to legally stopping brand thieves and I am confident we will stop Mr Matravers”.
easyGroup is the parent company for easyJet airlines and other brands. Pic: AP/Armando Franca
In a filing submitted to the High Court, seen by Sky News, easyGroup claims it “has suffered and/or is likely to suffer loss and damage” as a result of the band’s name, as easyLife is among its family brands. The lawsuit states that the financial value of the claim cannot currently be estimated, but it is considered to be “substantial”.
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Posting a statement on social media, Easy Life said: “We’ve worked hard to establish our brand and I’m certain in no way have we ever affected their business.
“Although we find this whole situation hilarious, we are virtually powerless against such a massive corporation.”
easyGroup is the owner of the family of brands under the easy name. It is the private investment vehicle for easyJet’s founder, Sir Stelios, but each of the brands, including easyJet and easyHotel, are separate companies.
In their court filing, they say the easylife catalogue retailer is a licensed brand.
The easyGroup, which was set up in 1998 by Sir Stelios, has previously taken legal action against a number of companies over the use of the “easy” brand. It has a section of its website entitled “brand thieves”, which includes details of its legal battles over the name.
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