Elon Musk on spat with Apple: 'animosity' isn't helpful

Elon Musk doesn't want to spar with Apple anymore.

This fall, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO told the German newspaper Handelsblatt that Apple only hired Tesla's worst engineers ("We always jokingly call Apple the 'Tesla Graveyard") and scoffed at the company's reported automotive ambitions (while simultaneously insulting its smart watch).

His comments worked up a froth of publicity in the US, and he ended up tweeting a pseudo-apology, saying that he doesn't "hate Apple" and think's its a great company with talented people.

In a big interview with GQ published today but conducted several months ago, Musk said that generating more bad blood between the two companies "just is not helpful."

GQ's Chris Heath asked Musk about Steve Jobs, and he started to say that the one time he had met Jobs, the CEO had been "kind of a jerk."

But then he stopped himself mid-sentence, saying that more "animosity" was the last thing he needed. When Heath asked him whether his remarks to Handelsblatt reflected his true feelings, he declined to go into it.

"You know, it's better if I don't say anything on this front. There's no upside in generating animosity," he said. "It's not that I care about currying favor with Apple or anything like that, but I don't care to generate animosity."

The rest of the story delves into Musk's Mars colonization plans, and what it's like trying to design an aesthetically pleasing spacesuit.