Amidst rising controversies between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla’s Elon Musk, the latter has criticized Apple for charging a 30 percent commission fee for publishing apps on its App Store. The Tesla CEO took to Twitter to slam the Cupertino giant for “overcharging with App Store” and supported Epic Games in the lawsuit between the industry giants.
Now, for the unaware, Apple charges developers a 30 percent commission to publish and sell apps and services on its digital marketplace. This was the primary reason that led Epic to file a lawsuit against Apple last year after the Cupertino giant removed Epic’s Fortnite game from the App Store. Since then, the companies have been going back and forth, criticizing each other for various misdeeds.
So, in a recent tweet, Elon criticized Apple’s App Store fees, stating that it is a “de facto global tax on the Internet”. Furthermore, he added that Epic “is right” in its place to sue Apple for the same. You can check out the tweet attached right below.
Apple app store fees are a de facto global tax on the Internet. Epic is right.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2021
Moreover, after a new book about Tesla was released recently, a new controversy arose between Tim Cook and Elon Musk. So, in a recent tweet by a small-scale news EV news channel Whole Mars Catalog, they wrote that Elon has been criticizing Apple lately.
Replying to the tweet, Elon wrote that Apple is “obviously” overcharging for “doing almost zero incremental work,” which he states is “completely unreasonable.” Furthermore, Elon added that the market pressure would normally force companies to lower fees. However, as Apple essentially runs a monopoly when it comes to “interface familiarity”, it is able to charge such high fees for its services. Conclusively, Elon added that the App Store fee is “hidden from users” or else there would have been an outcry.
Normally, competitive pressure would force Apple to lower fees, but Apple & Android have a duopoly on phones. When interface familiarity is taken into account, it’s basically a monopoly.
The effective 30% sales tax Apple charges is hidden from users or there would be an outcry.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2021
Apple, on the other hand, claims that it charges 30 percent App Store fees for maintaining a safe OS experience for its users. The Cupertino giant says that it checks each app on the App Store to ensure that it is safe and secure for its users. This is also a primary reason for which Apple discourages “sideloading” of apps from third-party app stores.
So, what do you think about Apple charging a 30 percent commission for publishing apps on the App Store? Do you support the company’s policy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
