Elon Musk said today that Apple Inc. declined an offer to buy Tesla Inc. at a bargain-basement price during the company’s “darkest days.”

Musk’s tweet, which came in response to reports that Apple is going ahead with its plans to launch an electronic, self-driving car by 2024, claimed that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook was offered the chance to buy Tesla for just 10% of its market value. But Cook refused to even discuss the offer, Musk claimed.

During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, I reached out to Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (for 1/10 of our current value). He refused to take the meeting.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 22, 2020

Musk didn’t say exactly when he allegedly offered Tesla for sale, but the company was struggling in mid-2017 at the time it launched its affordable Tesla Model 3 vehicle (pictured) with a $35,000 price tag. The Model 3 missed initial production targets by a long way and Tesla’s stock sank as a result. But within two years Tesla’s business recovered and the Model 3 emerged as the world’s best-selling electric car.

Musk also called into question claims that Apple has created a “breakthrough” battery technology that would give it longer range and make it cheaper to run than the Model 3.

Reuter’s original report cited anonymous sources as saying Apple is exploring a unique “monocell” battery design that uses lithium iron phosphate, which is more resistant to overheating than the lithium ion batteries used in most electric vehicles today.

Musk said it was “strange” that Apple is exploring the use of those materials, as Tesla already uses iron phosphate for medium-range cars made in its Shanghai factory.

“A monocell is electrochemically impossible, as max voltage is ~100X too low. Maybe they meant cells bonded together, like our structural battery pack?” Musk tweeted.

Musk’s comments notably came just days after Tesla joined the S&P 500 general index. His company now has a market capitalization of more than $600 billion, which puts it close to Facebook Inc. and makes it far more valuable than other leading car manufacturers such as Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co.

Photo: SAUD AL-OLAYAN/Flickr