Elon Musk doesn’t hold back when it comes to Apple. From calling the company the “Tesla Graveyard” to criticizing its AI plans and reflecting on his unpleasant encounter with Steve Jobs, Musk’s comments make it clear that the rivalry between these tech giants is personal, professional and competitive.
In 2015, Musk mocked Apple’s hiring practices during an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt. Referring to the recruitment of former Tesla employees, he said:
“They hired people that we fired. We always jokingly call Apple the ‘Tesla Graveyard’. If you can’t make it at Tesla, you can.” work at Apple. I’m not kidding.”
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This followed reports that Apple was working on its ‘Titan’ electric vehicle project. Musk didn’t stop at manning digs; he also questioned Apple’s ability to break into the automotive industry, saying: “Have you ever looked at the Apple Watch? No, it’s good that Apple is moving and investing in this direction. But cars are very complex compared to phones or smartwatches.” You can’t just go to a supplier like Foxconn and say, build me a car.”
Apple declined to comment at the time.
Musk’s criticism wasn’t just aimed at Apple’s business strategies. In an interview with GQ that same year, he recalled meeting Steve Jobs at a party before Jobs’ death in 2011. The meeting was not what Musk had hoped for. “[The] Once I met Steve Jobs, he was kind of a jerk,” Musk said.
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He later tried to soften his comment by explaining that his observation was based on a “personal experience.” He added that Larry Pageco-founder of Google, had introduced him to Jobs several years earlier, and Jobs may not have even known who he was at the time.
Fast forward to today and Musk’s criticism of Apple has shifted to his push for artificial intelligence. After Apple announced updates to Siri that include integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Musk expressed concerns about user privacy and security. On his platform