Elon Musk goes Hulk-Smash on Tim Cook, claiming Apple threatened to pull Twitter off App Store

Twitter's head honcho and self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, Elon Musk is having a meltdown over Apple Inc. And he's not stopped tweeting jabs at Apple using an iPhone since last night. There's also a very good reason why he should be melting down further. 

Apple: "I love when people complain about iPhone ... on iPhone 🤣🤣" pic.twitter.com/FHFvER1rwt

— Snapback Kid Kruse 🧢 (@kruuuuuse) November 29, 2022

But keep in mind that so far, the entire story is one-sided. We only know the details because Elon Musk claims it to be this way. 

What happened? Poor little rich boy Elon Musk was busy propagating free speech, promising to expose the previous Twitter board's actions against free speech (what a noble deed indeed!), when his blazing change-the-world trail was rudely interrupted by Apple (HOW DARE YOU, Steve Job-wannabe!).

• Elon Musk claimed that Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter, asking whether the iPhone maker hates free speech in America (that's a leading question!).
• He also tagged Apple CEO Tim Cook to ask what was happening. Cook hasn't replied, nor has Apple. 

What’s going on here @tim_cook?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022

(Readers, there's no need to panic over the news yet!)

Now, Apple stopping its advertisements on Twitter is one big concern for Musk, but it doesn't end there. It just gets worse.

The REAL reason Musk is losing his s***: Apple has reportedly threatened Twitter that it will pull the app from its App Store. 

(Now, you can panic!)

• Elon Musk claimed that Apple has "threatened to withhold" Twitter from iOS App Store for reasons unknown. 

Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022

• Coincidentally, Apple App Store boss Phil Schiller has also deleted his Twitter account after Musk reinstated former US President Donald Trump's account. 

What does it mean? If Musk's claim of Apple withholding Twitter from the App Store is indeed true, then it could mean rejecting an update to the app.

• In the worst-case scenario, it can also mean that Twitter essentially is yanked from iOS altogether, and users on iPhones are unable to use it, a devastating blow to an already struggling Twitter. In this case, we can say bye-bye. And if Musk doesn't get an Android phone, he too can say bye-bye to his own company's app. 
• Since Apple instilled the fear of god in Elon Musk, he has relentlessly tweeted jabs at the company, claiming that the company pushes monopolistic policies and acts against free speech and more. 

• His followers have also unleashed their fury on Apple, from claiming to boycott Apple products to accusing them of forced labour in China (that has some weight, but like what about Tesla??!)

Hey @tim_cook, remember the 1984 Macintosh Ad? If Steve Jobs could see how you turned his vision into an oppression tool for the deep state committing mass surveillance and censorship against Apple users he would hate you. Who do you think you are disrespecting Steve like that?

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) November 29, 2022

If Twitter was a Chinese company, Apple wouldn’t dare delete it from the App Store.

— Naval (@naval) November 29, 2022

• Musk's followers are also betting on him making the Tesla phone to rival the iPhone, all because a company hypothetically chose to not subscribe to his app. 

I’m ready for a Tesla Phone. I was born with out an Apple iPhone and I can live without an Apple iPhone.

I stand with Elon Musk

— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) November 29, 2022

Is Apple cornering Musk into building a new phone?

Or is China giving an ultimatum to Apple to drop Twitter or else they won’t deliver on the 6 million phones they’re relying on? pic.twitter.com/MQmc8JnkcV

— Patrick Bet-David (@patrickbetdavid) November 29, 2022

Apple vs Twitter history: For long, Twitter has sparred with Apple over content moderation rules. It's not new that the two companies don't see eye-to-eye on the topic. 

• In the past, Twitter has allowed some adult content on its platform, and Apple, which is known for successfully pushing Discord, Tumblr, and the likes to hide the content, has been unable to do the same with Twitter.
• But in an interview with CBS News this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said they hoped Twitter will continue with content moderation. 

Why is this alarming for Twitter? 

90% of Twitter's revenue comes from advertisements. 

• A lot of previous advertisers have already pulled out or temporarily suspended advertising on Twitter to wait and watch Musk's strategy on content moderation, which the head honcho, wants to keep moderation to a bare minimum.

A bit of statistics: These are the number of Twitter users by country. The US has the largest market. 

Another bit of statistic: In 2022, there were 120 million iPhone users in the US, making up nearly 49% of all smartphone users in the country. 

Now, time to put two and two together: So, if there are some 80 million Twitter users in the US and 120 million iPhone users in the US, that doesn't really sound great news for Twitter, does it?

We need to wait and see what Apple has to say about the fate of Twitter. But rest assured, it seems like Twitter's fate is more or less in the hands of another non-Elon Musk company, Apple, in case it fails to play by its rules. 

Also to note, Twitter is not a profit-making company at the moment and is likely billions of dollars in debt. Musk has not ruled out bankruptcy. But in the case of Twitter's bankruptcy, will Elon Musk blame Apple for its fate? Or will Musk just buy Apple worth NEARLY $2.3 TRILLION? Even the world's richest man will have to sit and count the zeroes in his bank account this time.