Elon Musk has criticized Apple for years. Apple has mostly ignored him

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is besides the caller proprietor and CEO of Twitter, bashed Apple this week aft claiming the institution has threatened to region the Twitter app from its App Store, accusing the institution of hating "free speech."

The Twitter app is inactive disposable for iOS devices, and there's nary motion that the fashionable societal media app is astatine existent hazard of getting booted by Apple.

The Tesla CEO's furious tweets callback however Musk has agelong taken shots astatine Apple, and highlighted conscionable however overmuch powerfulness the tech juggernaut inactive has implicit the world's richest person.

Meanwhile, Apple arsenic a institution ne'er engages successful nationalist trash speech toward Musk oregon Tesla, and has adjacent avoided taking veiled shots astatine them, arsenic opposed to the frequent oblique criticisms aimed at Facebook.

Behind each the attacks, Musk has large admiration for Apple's archetypal founder, Steve Jobs. Musk has adjacent begun moving with Steve Jobs' biographer, Walter Isaacson, connected his ain authoritative biography.

Musk's latest spate of Apple insults began past week. This week, Musk claimed successful a tweet that Apple had mostly stopped advertizing connected the Twitter platform.

He tried to provoke Apple CEO Tim Cook into a nationalist treatment astir the simplification successful advertizing connected Twitter, asking him if Apple hates "free code successful America" and "what's going connected here." Cook did not respond.

Apple is not unsocial successful reducing its campaigns connected the societal media level since Musk took over.

After Musk closed a leveraged buyout woody connected Oct. 28 and appointed himself CEO, a spike of anti-Black racist and antisemitic hatred code flooded the platform, partially due to the fact that of raids that were coordinated by users connected online chat level 4chan.

Musk besides began making steep cuts to Twitter's workforce, gutting income teams, teams liable for measuring Twitter show metrics and contented moderation teams, among others.

Twitter has been losing advertisers and advertisement gross ever since, with civilian rights groups and erstwhile advertisers connected the level pressuring Musk to beryllium that his overmuch smaller squad tin responsibly negociate contented moderation, advertisement campaigns, cybersecurity and more.

Whether close oregon not, Musk's allegation that Apple has "threatened to withhold" Twitter from its App Store whitethorn resonate with different developers.

Apple is notorious for providing fewer details erstwhile notifying app makers that their apps are astatine hazard of suffering delayed updates oregon removal from the App Store. Responses wrong Apple's App Store Connect level are terse, usually citing a rule, but not elaborating connected what specifically an app shaper should bash to hole the occupation — for example, Apple mightiness accidental the app has a "metadata problem" oregon uses a banned exertion programming interface.

Musk besides chafes nether Apple's level fees, which are betwixt 15% and 30% of full integer sales, similar the $8 Twitter Blue subscription that Musk has said could beryllium a large merchandise for the company. Musk said it was a "de facto planetary tax" connected the net earlier helium took implicit Twitter, but successful his caller relation arsenic an app owner, helium has attacked it with expanding vigor.

This week, helium tweeted and deleted a meme that suggested helium would alternatively "go to war" than wage 30% to Apple.

Apple earlier this week declined to remark connected the alleged menace of suspension oregon Apple's advertisement walk with Twitter.

Tesla and Apple are neighbors successful the San Francisco Bay Area, which means that they person competed for endowment for much than a decade. Now that contention has extended into Texas.

Both companies request mechanical engineers, concern designers, materials subject and artillery experts, and skilled bundle engineers.

Apple has besides invested heavy successful processing its ain electrical autonomous conveyance technology. If the alleged "Apple Car" ever came to market, Tesla and Apple would beryllium nonstop competitors.

In that context, aboriginal examples of Musk tweaking Apple could beryllium seen arsenic affable rivalry.

When Tesla was inactive an underdog and upstart, Musk utilized to telephone Apple the "Tesla graveyard," according to aggregate erstwhile Tesla employees who spoke with CNBC. Internally, helium would promote unhappy Tesla workers to spell use for a cushy occupation astatine Apple.

He yet brought this up successful a public interview, saying that Apple hired radical who were fired from Tesla.

In 2018, dozens of erstwhile Tesla employees landed astatine Apple, including immoderate who were laid disconnected and others who simply jumped vessel from Tesla. At that time, the EV maker's North American PR squad told CNBC, "Tesla is the hard path. We person 100 times little wealth than Apple, truthful of people they tin spend to wage more."

One of the astir notable radical to power sides was Doug Field, who started astatine Apple, joined Tesla and past rejoined Apple. Now helium works for a much nonstop Tesla competitor, Ford.

Last summer, Musk laid retired immoderate of his problems with the mode Apple does concern connected a Tesla net call, though helium was cautious not to sanction the institution astatine first.

He started by criticizing the magnitude of cobalt, a mineral linked to quality rights abuses, which Apple uses to marque batteries successful its devices. In 2018, Musk pledged to destruct Tesla's usage of cobalt successful its accumulation entirely. Tesla has shifted a important information of its vehicles to a benignant of artillery called an LFP, oregon lithium robust phosphate battery. However, it has not managed to destruct request of cobalt wholly yet.

In its most caller Impact Report, Tesla wrote, "we expect our implicit cobalt request to summation implicit the coming years due to the fact that our conveyance and compartment accumulation maturation complaint is forecasted to outpace the wide complaint of cobalt simplification connected a per compartment basis."

On the charging front, Tesla is experimenting with ways to springiness different EV drivers entree to its network. But the institution hasn't opened up charging connected a mainstream ground yet.

Later successful the net call, Musk criticized Apple's "walled garden" concern exemplary erstwhile answering a question astir erstwhile Tesla chargers mightiness beryllium capable to complaint different conveyance makes.

"I deliberation we bash privation to stress that our extremity is to enactment the advent of sustainable energy," Musk said. "It is not to make a walled plot and usage that to bludgeon our competitors, which is utilized by immoderate companies."

In lawsuit anybody missed the notation to Apple's App Store, which Apple maintains arsenic the exclusive mode to administer apps to its devices, Musk past faked a cough and said, "Apple."

Musk besides has utilized Apple's sanction to make buzz. In September, when Apple announced satellite connectivity successful its caller iPhone 14 models (with satellites being operated by GlobalStar) Musk suggested that Apple had looked into utilizing Starlink, which uses antithetic technology.

"We've had immoderate promising conversations with Apple astir Starlink connectivity," Musk tweeted, complimenting the iPhone team. Apple has ne'er acknowledged immoderate negotiations oregon adjacent treatment with SpaceX.

Have Apple CEO Tim Cook and Musk ever spoken successful depth?

According to Cook, the reply is no.

The Apple main said successful a 2021 podcast that helium has "great admiration and respect" for Tesla, but that helium had ne'er spoken with Elon Musk. The 2 were photographed feet isolated with different concern leaders astatine a 2016 gathering with erstwhile President Donald Trump astatine Trump Tower.

But Musk claims that Apple declined his connection to get Tesla years ago, erstwhile the EV maker's marketplace headdress stood astatine a fraction of its existent value.

"During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, I reached retired to Tim Cook to sermon the anticipation of Apple acquiring Tesla (for 1/10 of our existent value). He refused to instrumentality the meeting," Musk tweeted successful 2020.

Another mentation of the communicative comes from "Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century," a publication by concern writer Tim Higgins.

Around 2016, according to the book, Musk and Cook spoke astir Apple perchance acquiring Tesla. It was struggling with precocious costs and issues shipping its Model 3 car astatine the time. Apple, with its expertise successful manufacturing and ample amounts of cash, would person been a cleanable acquirer.

Except, successful Higgins' telling, Musk had 1 condition: He wanted to go CEO of the combined Apple-Tesla.

"F--- you," Cook said, according to the book.