Steve Wozniak says Elon Musk wants to 'be like a cult leader'

Steve Wozniak took a dig at
Elon Musk during an interview with CNBC on Thursday.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue and Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic

Steve Wozniak slammed Elon Musk during an interview with CNBC on Thursday, calling him dishonest.
The Apple cofounder said Musk is similar to Steve Jobs, as they both wanted 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” when it comes to convincing people to believe in their products — but added that the similarities end there.

“I put them in the category of having the ability to communicate, and wanting to be seen as the important person and be like a cult leader,” Wozniak said, adding that he doesn’t believe Musk is of the same caliber of entrepreneur as Jobs. “A lot of people will follow them no matter what they say.”

—Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC)
February 9, 2023

Wozniak, who is 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. “Everything you say is totally honest. You don’t hide things. You don’t make things up. You don’t make yourself seem better. And a lot of honesty disappears when you look at Elon Musk and Tesla.”

The Apple cofounder said Musk and Tesla “robbed” his family of money due to the company’s claims about its self-driving technology. Wozniak said he bought a Tesla in 2016 under the belief that the car would be able to soon drive itself across the country — likely due to a claim from Musk.

But even after spending another $50,000 to upgrade his car with better cameras and sensors, the car still can’t make the cross-country trip autonomously. Tesla’s cars require a licensed driver to monitor the self-driving software at all times.

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

Musk and a spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.

Wozniak has dissed Musk in the past. In 2018, Insider reported that Wozniak said he “doesn’t believe anything Elon Musk or Tesla says” following claims about the company’s full self-driving in a marketing video. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that the same video had been at least partially staged.

In 2018, Tesla settled a class action lawsuit that cited the same 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.