--- title: "Elon Musk Reportedly Demanded to Be Made CEO of Apple" description: "According to explosive allegations in a new book, Elon Musk once demanded to be made CEO of software megacorporation Apple." date: "2021-07-30" modified: "2021-07-30" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-demanded-ceo-apple" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "apple" - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Reportedly Demanded to Be Made CEO of Apple ![According to explosive allegations in a new book, Elon Musk once demanded to be made CEO of software megacorporation Apple.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Power Play According to explosive allegations in a new book, Elon Musk once demanded to be made CEO of software megacorporation Apple — prompting Tim Cook, the actual CEO, to hang up the phone in disgust. Here's how things went down during a 2016 call, according to the [*Los Angeles* *Times*' synopsis]() of "[Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century]()," by *Wall Street Journal* reporter Tim Higgins. *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.* ## Claims Court The claim is notable as yet another example of Musk's executive bombast, but it also — intriguingly — directly contradicts Musk's own account of Tesla's relationship with Apple. Referring to the same period of time, in the company's "darkest days" when it was trying to get the Model 3 out the door in 2016, Musk [claimed in late 2020]() that he had reached out to Cook to discuss the possibility of selling Tesla to Apple. But in Musk's telling, Cook "refused to take the meeting." Whose telling is correct? It's tough to say. Musk has certainly been known to [behave in a grandiose way]() and [contradict reality](), but it would also be an outrageous move — even by his own outsize standards — to demand that Tim Cook surrender his job. **READ MORE:** [Review: A deep new history of Tesla takes the shine off Elon Musk]() \[*Los Angeles Times*\] **More on Elon Musk:** [*Elon Musk Employees Are Instructed to Tell People He’s “Awesome” and “Inspiring”*]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()