Did Tim Cook Really Say 'F--k You' To Elon Musk?

Elon Musk is refuting claims in a new book that Tim Cook cursed him out during a telephone conversation regarding Apple Inc.'s AAPL exploratory discussions on acquiring Tesla Inc. TSLA.

What Supposedly Happened: In the new book “Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century” by Wall Street Journal reporter Tim Higgins, an alleged 2016 telephone call between Musk and Cook is recalled, with Cook offering to purchase the then-financially troubled electric vehicle manufacturer.

According to Higgins’ book, Musk told Cook he would agree to the deal on the condition that “I’m CEO.” Cook assumed Musk meant he could retain his leadership role at Tesla if the acquisition went through, but Musk clarified that he would agree to the deal if he became CEO of Apple.

Cook’s alleged response: “F--k you,” followed by hanging up on the call.

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It Ain’t Necessarily So: Although Musk has made more than a few indelicate comments about Apple, he denied the incident described by Higgins ever occurred.

“Cook & I have never spoken or written to each other ever,” he tweeted. “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. Tesla was worth about 6% of today’s value.”

In an April interview with The New York Times, Cook affirmed he never had contact with Musk.

“You know, I've never spoken to Elon, although I have great admiration and respect for the company he's built,” he said. “I think Tesla has done an unbelievable job of not only establishing the lead, but keeping the lead for such a long period of time in the EV space.”

Photo: Daniel Oberhaus on Flickr