Elon Musk declares war on Apple

Elon Musk declared war on tech giant Apple on Monday. He did so on his recently acquired social network, Twitter, of which he is one month into his tenure as CEO. Twitter is also the source of the problems with Tim Cook's company. According to Musk, Apple stopped advertising on the social network, which poses a risk to Twitter and to freedom of expression:

Musk began receiving hundreds of responses to his statements about Apple. He took advantage of the fact that one of the responses came from a company that claimed that the tech giant had also censored him. That was the argument the businessman used to continue digging for evidence against Apple. He also used the parody of one of the company's best-known advertisements, the one released in 1984, to define Apple's control:

Twitter could disappear from Apple and Google Store

It is not the only threat that the bird's social network must face. Apple and Google could pose another danger to freedom of expression on Twitter. What's more, both sent a warning the platform that they could ban it from their app stores, Apple Store and Google Play. And, according to the manager, without any kind of proof:

In response, Musk hit back and said that, should both companies veto Twitter, he would be forced to create his own cell phone:

Musk was not yet finished with the company founded by Steve Jobs. Hours later, he attacked where it hurts the apple company the most: its prices, for which he is not the only one to consider them "abusive." He did not focus on how much any Apple product costs, but rather assured that the company pockets a most profitable amount for every product that ends up on its App Store:

The fight, however, no longer centered on the tech giant's predatory pricing or the advertising Twitter receives from Apple. Musk said he was going further; it's a fight for "the future of civilization," at risk from Apple's policy:

Neither Apple nor its CEO, Tim Cook, have yet replied to Elon Musk's attacks. There is also no explanation for the decision to reduce advertising on the social network. Yes, there is data on Apple's advertising decline on the social network. As reported by Reuters, Apple spent $131,600 between November 10 and 16. A number well below the $220,800 that the tech giant invested in advertising on the social network between October 16 and 22, the week in which Musk closed the purchase of Twitter.

Tim Cook and Elon Musk, enemies since 2016

The history between Elon Musk and Apple goes back a long way. In 2016, Tim Cook attempted to buy another of Musk's companies, Tesla. He, at first, agreed to the idea, but made one condition: in return, he wanted to be Apple's CEO. An anecdote from the book Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century:

Musk is interested, but one condition: “I’m CEO.”

Sure, says Cook. When Apple bought Beats in 2014, it kept on the founders, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.

No, Musk says. Apple. Apple CEO.

“F— you” Cook says, and hangs up.

However, Musk denied in a tweet posted in 2021 the alleged meeting between him and Cook. He does claim that there were negotiations for Apple to add Tesla to its portfolio, but they never came to fruition, as Cook refused to meet with him, ending the deal: