[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again targeted iPhone manufacturer Apple.
On the 30th (local time), Musk sided with game developer Epic Games, which is currently in a lawsuit with Apple over app store fees, criticizing Apple for "clearly overcharging (fees) through the App Store."
He posted on Twitter, pointing out that "Apple's App Store fees are effectively a global tax on the internet," and raised his voice saying that "Epic Games, which sued Apple, is right."
Last August, Epic Games opposed Apple's app store fee policy by introducing its own in-app payment system, and Apple removed Epic Games' popular game 'Fortnite' from the App Store citing policy violations.
In response, Epic Games filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple.
Musk said that the "30% fee Apple takes while operating the App Store is completely unreasonable," adding, "If the fee were fair, Epic Games would not have gone to such lengths to implement its own payment system."
Musk also criticized Apple on the 26th.
During a conference call following Tesla's Q2 earnings announcement, Musk drew attention by pretending to cough while saying "Apple" in a mocking tone and criticized Apple's App Store policy as a "walled garden."
The term 'walled garden' was used by Epic Games' attorney during the first antitrust trial in May to criticize Apple's fee policy in court.
Along with this, Musk denied the rumor described in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter's new book, "Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century," about Apple's offer to acquire Tesla.
The book contains content that Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed his intention to acquire Tesla to Musk, and Musk demanded the position of Apple CEO as a condition for agreeing.
In response to a tweet question from a British BBC reporter asking about the authenticity of the book's content, Musk stated, "Cook and I have never spoken or exchanged letters," and "There was no acquisition offer made (to Tesla) at all."
He added, "I asked Cook to meet to discuss the story about Apple's acquisition of Tesla, but Cook refused the meeting," and "At that time, Tesla was valued at about 6% of its current value."
In response, when a netizen posted, "Musk could have been a better CEO for Apple," he replied, "I do not want to be the CEO of anything."
Musk has recently also claimed that "I never wanted the CEO position."
In a shareholder derivative lawsuit alleging that Musk caused losses to the company by leading Tesla's acquisition of solar company SolarCity in 2016, he said, "I did not want to be Tesla's CEO but had to take it on reluctantly, and if I hadn't, the company would have disappeared."
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