Steve Wozniak Speaks Out Against Elon Musk and Tesla, Calls Marketing “Dishonest”

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) co-founder Steve Wozniak wasn’t so happy comparing Steve Jobs with Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday. While he agreed that the two were very similar, Wozniak said that his good friend Jobs wasn’t so “dishonest” and “untruthful” in his marketing.

Wozniak, who believes that one shouldn’t “make things up” to make themselves be “seen better,” was specifically gripey about the controversial Full Self-Driving (FSD) option of Tesla vehicles, as, like many others, he was misled thinking that the feature meant the car could safely drive itself.

READ: Tesla: 2016 Full Self-Driving Video Was Faked, Says Head of Autopilot Engineering

“They have robbed my family — myself and my wife — of so much money I couldn’t tell you, with things they said that we really believed would be real,” Wozniak added.

The Apple co-founder had a Tesla in 2016 and he paid to upgrade to get the FSD capability because Musk had said “it would drive itself across the country by the end of 2016.” But as everyone knows that didn’t happen, like many of Musk’s bold pronouncements.

“And then we upgraded for $50,000,” to the version with eight cameras, which Musk said would drive across the country in 2017. But again, didn’t.

Wozniak fairly acknowledged Musk’s real contributions to the electric vehicle industry, saying he “did great things,” and that because of what he’s done, “we’re getting to EVs sooner than we would’ve.”

“I admire some things about him. But I don’t admire being able to speak in marketing terms that’s dishonest and misleading,” he said.

Musk’s ~marketing style~ has been the center of a recent lawsuit where a minor shareholder alleged that his “funding secured” tweet had deceived investors about a buyout that never happened. Musk, who sat on the witness stand for the three-week trial, won the jury over after less than two hours of deliberation.

Information for this story was found via CNBC, Fortune, and the other sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.

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