In another chapter in the “Twitter against the establishment” saga that has been ongoing since billionaire Elon Musk bought the social media platform, it appears that tech super-giant Apple has backed away from threats to cripple Twitter’s utility with iPhone users.
Musk wrote in a tweet posted on Monday that Apple had threatened to pull Twitter from its App Store, which would have ended support for the platform for users of Apple’s mobile devices.
By Wednesday, Musk had posted a follow-up tweet indicating that he had met with Apple CEO Tim Cook to tour the firm’s headquarters and the “misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store” had been resolved.
Good conversation. Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store. Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 30, 2022
Musk wrote: “Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.”
The apparent dispute heated up last Friday when Musk responded to online speculation that Apple might remove Twitter from the App Store. The discussion considered the possibility that Musk might be faced with the prospect of creating his own phone manufacturer in order to protect access to Twitter.
Musk wrote, “I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone.”
Before the Wednesday tweet appeared to resolve the controversy for, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) jumped into the fray. He said on Tuesday that removing Twitter from the App Store would be “a raw exercise of monopolistic power.” He added that such a move would merit a response from Congress to put Apple’s power in check.
Although he has not formally announced his intention to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, DeSantis has been much more active in national issues since winning reelection as governor of the Sunshine State in runaway fashion last month.
Musk has recently reinstated the Twitter account of President Donald Trump which was suspended in January 2021 — while Trump was still in office. Trump has not posted on the reinstated account, but he has formally announced his campaign for another term in the White House.
