Elon Musk slams Apple and sides with Epic, calls 30% store fees unfair

Elon Musk tweeted out in support for Epic Games in the ongoing Apple and Epic lawsuit where the Fortnite maker alleged that the Cupertino technology giant was using its popular App Store as an illegal monopoly and took a 30 percent cut on every sale on its digital storefront.

Apple app store fees are a de facto global tax on the Internet. Epic is right.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2021

Musk continued his train of thought by saying that he likes and uses Apple products but the 30 percent fees "for doing zero incremental work" was unreasonable.

He also tweeted to say that competitive pressure would keep this in check but since Apple and Google had the biggest mobile operating systems in the world, they were basically a duopoly. He also said that Apple hides the 30 percent sales tax it charges from the users because there would be an outcry if it were made public.

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

Elon Musk criticised Apple a few days ago on an earnings call for Tesla saying that the company has created a "walled garden" to quash competition.