Steve Wozniak says Elon Musk desires to ‘be like a cult leader’

• Steve Wozniak slammed Elon Musk during an interview with CNBC on Thursday, calling him dishonest.
• The Apple cofounder said Musk is comparable to Steve Jobs, as they each desired to be “like a cult leader.”
• Wozniak said he feels as if he’s been “robbed” by Musk over his claims about Tesla’s self-driving tech.

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak took a dig at Elon Musk during an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday.

Wozniak told Andrew Ross Sorkin that he thinks Musk and his late friend Steve Jobs are “very similar” on the subject of convincing people to consider of their products — but added that the similarities end there.

“I put them within the category of getting the flexibility to speak, and wanting to be seen because the essential person and be like a cult leader,” Wozniak said, adding that he doesn’t consider Musk is of the identical caliber of entrepreneur as Jobs. “Numerous people will follow them irrespective of what they are saying.”

—Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC)
February 9, 2023

Wozniak, who’s credited with designing Apple’s early computers, also said that he believes Musk lacks honesty.

“My life has been based on total honesty,” Wozniak said. “The whole lot you say is completely honest. You do not hide things. You do not make things up. You do not make yourself seem higher. And a variety of honesty disappears whenever you take a look at Elon Musk and Tesla.”

The Apple cofounder said Musk and Tesla “robbed” his family of cash as a consequence of the corporate’s claims about its self-driving technology. Wozniak said he bought a Tesla in 2016 under the idea that the automotive would give you the option to soon drive itself across the country — likely as a consequence of a claim from Musk.

But even after spending one other $50,000 to upgrade his automotive with higher cameras and sensors, the automotive still cannot make the cross-country trip autonomously. Tesla’s cars require a licensed driver to observe the self-driving software in any respect times.

Ultimately, Wozniak said that while he admires Tesla’s efforts to speed up the mass adoption of electrical cars. He’s gotten a “bit drained” of Musk’s ability to “speak in marketing terms” that he sees as “dishonest.”

Musk and a spokesperson for Tesla didn’t reply to a request for comment ahead of publication.

Wozniak has dissed Musk previously. In 2018, Insider reported that Wozniak said he “doesn’t consider anything Elon Musk or Tesla says” following claims in regards to the company’s full self-driving in a marketing video. Earlier this 12 months, Reuters reported that the identical video had been no less than partially staged.

In 2018, Tesla settled a category motion lawsuit that cited the identical 2016 video. The lawsuit alleged that the video was misleading. Over the past few years, Musk’s company has come under increased scrutiny from regulators over the self-driving software and its marketing of the services.