Why Is Elon Musk So Impressed With Apple? The Tesla CEO Says 'Wow' To Remarkable Statistic

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has had run-ins with Apple, Inc. AAPL in the past. That didn’t stop the billionaire from giving credit where it is due.

Musk was responding to a tweet from World Of Statistics, going by the Twitter handle @stats_feed, that said Apple’s market cap is worth more than the combined market capitalization of 11 blue-chip companies that are stalwarts in their respective sectors. The companies mentioned and their market caps as of Friday’s close are as follows:

• Coca-Cola Company KO: $259.82 billion
• Starbucks Corp. SBUX: $120.57 billion
• Nike, Inc. NKE: $196.33 billion
• Walmart, Inc. WMT: $379.01 billion
• Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM: $466.81 billion
• AT &T, Inc. T: $137.05 billion
• Visa, Inc. V: $475.00 billion
• Walt Disney Company DIS: $188.71 billion
• McDonald’s, Inc. MCD: $196.71 billion
• Ford Motor Company F: $49.85 billion
• Netflix, Inc. NFLX: $152.42 billion

All but four of these companies are components of the Dow Industrials Average – an index comprising 30 blue-chip stocks representing key sectors.

The combined market cap of these companies is currently $2.62 trillion. This compares to current Apple’s valuation of $2.18 trillion. Since the tweet was posted, it isn’t clear if the market cap pertained to Thursday’s closing price or intraday value.

“Wow,” Musk said, in reaction to the tweet.

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Why It’s Important: Apple is the world’s most valuable company and has shown consistent fundamental outperformance. The company’s products combine both utility value and aesthetic appeal.

It derives about half of its revenue from the iPhone, its iOS-powered smartphone, which has been its cash cow despite its existence for a decade and a half now. Macs and iPads are also among Apple's popular products. The company’s massive installed device base has helped grow its Services business, which is built around its hardware products.

Apple is touted as an all-weather stock, doing well irrespective of the economic condition. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a recent note that the company’s products/services are more resilient than people think. Apple should remain a “Rock of Gibraltar name into 2023,” he said in another note.

The stock closed Friday’s session up 1.92% at $137.87, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Read next: Apple Defies Tech Industry-Wide Massive Layoffs: Here's How Cupertino Is Avoiding Job Cuts

Photo: courtesy of Dunk from flickr.