Twitter and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has accused Apple company of censorship and monopolistic practice.
In a series of tweets shared, he claimed that the company “mostly stopped” advertising on Twitter and questioned whether Apple and its CEO Tim Cook “hate free speech in America.”
“Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why,” Musk tweeted, providing a reason for his recent criticism.
Apple did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on Musk’s tweets.
Musk also knocked the 30% fee that Apple takes from most sales through the company’s App Store, tweeting a photo of a highway sign with two options: “Pay 30%” or “go to war,” with a car choosing the “go to war” path.
Many smaller companies have previously slammed Apple’s 30% App Store fee, and it is the subject of an ongoing legal battle between ‘Fortnite’ video game maker Epic Games and the tech giant.
This isn’t the first time Musk has critiqued Apple’s App Store. In May, Musk said the 30% fee was “literally 10 times higher than it should be.”
However, Monday’s attacks escalate the feud between Musk and Cook.
Musk hasn’t shied away from lambasting other high-profile billionaires, tweeting criticisms of the likes of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates in the past.
In October, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos battle was renewed.
The latest barb, involved Musk’s Twitter deal. After author and podcaster Michael Malice tweeted that “not a single person wringing their hands about @elonmusk buying Twitter has ever had a problem with Jeff Bezos owning the @washingtonpost,” Musk replied, “Good point.”
In April, Bezos delivered a jab regarding the Twitter deal, when New York Times reporter Michael Forsythe noted in a tweet that China was Tesla’s second-biggest market, that the carmaker relied heavily on Chinese suppliers, and that Beijing had no leverage over Twitter, which China had long ago banned.
Connecting the dots, Bezos replied: “Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square?”
The billionaires have also traded barbs while competing in the space business.
Musk heads SpaceX and Bezos Blue Origin. Last year, Musk made fun of the fact that Bezos would only travel the edge of space, not go orbital, when he joined the first crewed flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle in July.
A Twitter user captioned four pictures of the two, with words below Bezos reading “I’m going to space!” in one box and Musk saying, “Orbital, right?” In another. The next box showed a less excited Bezos saying nothing, and Musk repeating, “Orbital, right?
Musk replied with “Haha.”
Musk also needled Bezos last November, when a judge struck down a lawsuit that Blue Origin had filed against NASA, claiming the space agency had improperly awarded a $2.9 billion contract entirely to SpaceX. Musk tweeted, “You have been judged.”
A year ago, Musk also mocked Bezos after overtaking him as the world’s richest man, replying to a Bezos tweet—in which Bezos touted Amazon beating the odds and succeeding despite doubters—with an image of No. 2 medal.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates isn’t spared from Elom Musk’s rod as a conversation between the two billionaires tech entrepreneurs went viral in April, 2022.
In the private chat, there is apparently cordiality and it can also be seen how the two had met on numerous occasions.
At one point, however, Musk’s car company becomes the focus of the discussion.
“Do you still have a half billion dollar short position against Tesla?” asks Musk.
Gates responded honestly but was keen to move the conversation on.
“I’m sorry to say I haven’t closed it. I would like to discuss the possibilities of philanthropy” said Gates.
That’s when Musk decides to go on the attack and is very blunt with the Microsoft co-founder.
“Sorry, I cannot take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla, the company doing most to combat climate change.” Musk replied.