Elon Musk vows to speak with Tim Cook about Apple’s 30% ‘hidden tax’
Elon Musk vowed to personally approach Apple CEO Tim Cook in hopes of getting the iPhone maker to reduce the 30% “hidden tax” that it levies on app developers who charge money through the App Store.
The Tesla mogul who recently rebranded the social media platform once known as Twitter as X is once again chafing at the notorious surcharge imposed by Apple.
“Apple does take 30%, but I will speak with @tim_cook and see if that can be adjusted to be just 30% of what 𝕏 keeps in order to maximize what creators receive,” Musk wrote on his X account on Wednesday.
The Post has sought comment from Apple.
Musk on Wednesday urged X users to “please subscribe to as many creators on this platform as you find interesting.”
“People from every corner of the world post incredible content on 𝕏, but often live in tough circumstances, where even a few hundred dollars a month changes their life,” Musk wrote in the post.
Musk announced that the social media platform would incentivize creators to charge users for subscriptions.
“While we had previously said that 𝕏 would keep nothing for the 12 months, then 10%, we are amending that policy to 𝕏 keeps nothing forever, until payout exceeds $100k, then 10%,” Musk wrote.
“First 12 months is still free for all.”
Last year, Musk complained about Apple’s “hidden 30% tax on the Internet” — citing it as the reason for delaying the rollout of the subscription service known at the time as “Twitter Blue.”
Musk posted a meme suggesting he was willing to “go to war” with Apple rather than paying the commission.
“Apple’s store is like having a 30% tax on the Internet,” Musk said.
Musk added that the App Store fee was “literally 10 times higher than it should be.”
Tech executives have long criticized Apple over the 30% fee – which applies to paid downloads and other purchases for developers earning $1 million or more in annual revenue through the store.
In June 2021, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg criticized Apple in a blog post — insisting that Facebook would not charge creators for work posted on the social media platform through 2023.
“When we do introduce a revenue share, it will be less than the 30 percent that Apple and others take,” Zuckerberg said.
In November, Musk and Cook met after the former accused the latter of threatening to block Twitter from the App Store.
“Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so,” Musk tweeted, saying that the dustup was the result of a misunderstanding.
In February, the Department of Justice ramped up its antitrust investigation into Apple over alleged anti-competitive practices related to the App Store.
Federal investigators are reportedly exploring Apple’s policies toward third-party apps on its devices and whether its IOS operating system favors its own software products over those developed by other firms.
