• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

I wrote that Boomers were choking America’s economy. Their responses to me were revealing

2

A rare 'super' El Niño is looking more likely. Here’s what to expect

3

If Elon Musk merges SpaceX with Tesla he'll create a $3.4 trillion behemoth—with zero profits

1

I wrote that Boomers were choking America’s economy. Their responses to me were revealing

2

A rare 'super' El Niño is looking more likely. Here’s what to expect

3

If Elon Musk merges SpaceX with Tesla he'll create a $3.4 trillion behemoth—with zero profits
TechApple

Tesla’s Elon Musk takes aim at ‘Apple’s Achilles heel’

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 7, 2015, 5:21 PM ET
Photograph by Jerry Lampen — AFP/Getty Images

“Ultimately,” wrote KickingBear’s Guy English nearly three years ago, “the retention of talent will be Apple’s Achilles’ heel. The smartest people will always want to be working on the smartest thing.”

By that formulation, the smartest thing in Silicon Valley must be Elon Musk’s electric car. According to Bloomberg’s Tim Higgins and Dana Hull, Musk’s Palo Alto-based Tesla Motors has poached at least 150 Apple employees, more than from any other company, including carmakers.

Musk, who was Fortune’s 2013 Business Person of the Year, would be flattered by Bloomberg’s comparison:

Musk has a reputation, like Steve Jobs did, for a mercurial temper and an obsessive attention to detail,” Higgins and Hull write. “A former Tesla worker who didn’t want to be named says that Musk is enamored with Apple and relishes comparisons between himself and its co-founder. Tesla, says one Silicon Valley recruiter who asked not to be named, attracts the same kind of employees that Apple does—driven, hard-charging, and drawn to a strong leader.”

For veteran Apple engineers tempted by Musk’s offers, it doesn’t hurt that Apple has made so many of them so rich. As English points out, the team that worked on the original iPhone were granted stocks back in 2005-2006, when Apple traded between $4.50 and $12.35 a share (split-adjusted). The people who joined them to make iOS 2.0 were granted stock back in 2007-2008, when it traded between $10.85 and $23.90.

The stock closed Friday at $118.93.

Not every ex-Apple employee working at Tesla is a software engineer, of course. Many of them, according to Bloomberg, work in retail, law or public relations.

Thanks to Daring Fireball’s John Gruber for remembering English’s prescient Three Things That Should Trouble Apple.

And thanks to Daniel Tello, who tweeted:

@dtellom: @philiped You guys need to dust off on your classic lit references: Achilles’ heel was his only vulnerability.

Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter at @philiped. Read his Apple AAPL coverage at fortune.com/ped or subscribe via his RSS feed.

Watch more of the latest Tesla news from Fortune’s video team:

About the Author
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Okta’s COO says companies are in denial about the hardest part of the AI revolution: redesigning work itself
ConferencesCOO Summit
Okta’s COO says companies are in denial about the hardest part of the AI revolution: redesigning work itself
By Nick LichtenbergJune 1, 2026
7 minutes ago
Harvard Law: Anthropic is about to sell a safety mission Wall Street can veto
AIOpenAI
Harvard Law: Anthropic is about to sell a safety mission Wall Street can veto
By Catherina GioinoJune 1, 2026
1 hour ago
dario
AIAnthropic
Anthropic confidentially files its S-1 first—but the IPO race with OpenAI is just beginning
By Allie GarfinkleJune 1, 2026
1 hour ago
Florida sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman over allegations of marketing ChatGPT despite serious risks of user safety
AIOpenAI
Florida sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman over allegations of marketing ChatGPT despite serious risks of user safety
By The Associated PressJune 1, 2026
3 hours ago
Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
EnvironmentData centers
Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 1, 2026
3 hours ago
g
Economydisruption
Gen Z is losing the most in the AI economy—and Goldman warns it’s about to get worse
By Nick LichtenbergJune 1, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

I wrote that Boomers were choking America’s economy. Their responses to me were revealing
Personal Finance
I wrote that Boomers were choking America’s economy. Their responses to me were revealing
By Nick LichtenbergMay 31, 2026
1 day ago
A rare 'super' El Niño is looking more likely. Here’s what to expect
Environment
A rare 'super' El Niño is looking more likely. Here’s what to expect
By Brian K. Sullivan and BloombergMay 31, 2026
1 day ago
If Elon Musk merges SpaceX with Tesla he'll create a $3.4 trillion behemoth—with zero profits
Investing
If Elon Musk merges SpaceX with Tesla he'll create a $3.4 trillion behemoth—with zero profits
By Shawn TullyMay 31, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 1, 2026
9 hours ago
When loyalty is rewarded: Top earners who stay in their jobs get much larger pay increases than those who switch
Future of Work
When loyalty is rewarded: Top earners who stay in their jobs get much larger pay increases than those who switch
By Jacqueline MunisMay 30, 2026
3 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 1, 2026
9 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.