Elon Musk says Apple's 30% commission rate is 'definitely not ok'

Posted:
in General Discussion
Elon Musk has taken another shot at Apple, saying that the company's App Store commission on app and in-app purchases is "like having a 30% tax on the Internet."

Elon Musk
Elon Musk


The outspoken billionaire, who made the comment in a reply to an unrelated story about a European Union complaint focused on Apple Pay, said that the commission on "Apple's store" is "definitely not ok."

He added that the commission rate is "literally 10 times higher than it should be." That suggests Musk believes Apple should take a 3% cut of App Store purchases. For a $10 purchase, that would be 30 cents which only very slightly exceeds most credit card transaction fees. This is contrary to the US courts repeated ruling that Apple is allowed to charge a commission above and beyond expenses.

This is not the first time that Musk has taken a shot at Apple. Back in July 2021, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO threw his weight behind Epic Games in its trial against Apple. At the time, he also likened Apple's App Store fees to a "de facto global tax."

Apple's App Store commission has come under fire in recent years. The criticism has come from everyone from U.S. lawmakers to private companies like Epic Games, which filed a lawsuit and campaign against Apple over the fee.

A 30% commission rate has been an industry standard for most app marketplaces, including those maintained by companies like Google, Samsung, and Microsoft. Some companies, like Facebook, even charge a rate as high as 50% on certain purchases

Google dropped its commission to 15% in October 2021, while Apple has a program that also lowers the rate to 15% for businesses making less than $1 million from the App Store.

Musk's Tesla platform is not open. Neither CarPlay nor Android Auto work in Tesla vehicles. The company also charges second-hand owners for car features that were included with the original purchase of the vehicle.

Read on AppleInsider
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 65
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    A real prince, this guy. 
    BeatslolliverJFPottsjahbladedoozydozenwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 2 of 65
    xbitxbit Posts: 390member
    How much PayPal stock does Musk still own? 
    BeatssconosciutoEsquireCatschiaDogpersonlolliverjahbladedoozydozenwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 3 of 65
    thttht Posts: 5,420member
    You have to hand it to him. He is good at getting people to give him money. They are many Tesla vehicle buyers that paid $5000 to $8000 for Full Self Driving, a feature that has not be available since its inception in 2017. It’s essentially an in-app purchase today or an upgrade option at time of purchase. 

    It’s crazy, these buyers were expecting FSD to come to their cars any day now, for up to 5 years. That’s $5000 to $8000 for nothing. Don’t understand why there hasn’t been a shit storm over it yet. 
    dewmeBeatsJFC_PAtmayroundaboutnowstompyKTRchialolliverdaven
  • Reply 4 of 65
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Weird how a smart guy can be so very not smart about so many things. Ignore the pillock, his opinion on this doesn’t matter.
    dewmeBeatsviclauyyctmayroundaboutnowleavingthebigglolliverqwerty52darelrexjahblade
  • Reply 5 of 65
    pslicepslice Posts: 150member
    Musk needs to retire his mouth. 
    BeatsviclauyyctmayDogpersonlolliverqwerty52watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 6 of 65
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    Wow Musk must have had a day when the press didn’t stroke his ego. He had to do something about that. 
    thtBeatstmaysconosciutololliverdavenqwerty52cornchipwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 7 of 65
    He needs to keep his nose out and concentrate on stuff he knows something about. 
    Dogpersonlolliverqwerty52watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 65
    “Not ok” based on, what, exactly? Why is 3% any less arbitrary than 30%? I bet people think Tesla products are overpriced.

    This guy has plenty of money. Maybe he should build an entire hardware-software ecosystem from the ground up, and continuously maintain snd improve it at no cost to end users. Then he can charge developers whatever he wants and we’ll see who wins out.
    edited May 2022 retrogustosconosciutoDogpersonlolliverbaconstangqwerty52darelrexjahbladecoolfactorCluntBaby92
  • Reply 9 of 65
    But Musk charging $10,000 for a non-functioning FSD (Full Self Driving) mode that he's been promising for over 5 years saying repeatedly it's coming "soon" being a complete scam is OK. Besides being a petulant child who takes swipes at anyone who is a threat to him, he is a mendacious danger.
    dewmetmaylolliverbaconstangdarelrexjahbladespock1234cornchipwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 10 of 65
    rotateleftbyterotateleftbyte Posts: 1,630member
    Is Elon about to announce that he's running for congress? 
    His words sound like those of a politician - lots of drivel.

    Either that or not content with about to **** twitter he wants to do the same to Apple.
    And to think that I almost bought a Model S in 2018. Now... I will never ever buy anything made by a company that he controls.

    lolliverBeatsqwerty52jahbladewatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 65
    mikethemartianmikethemartian Posts: 1,296member
    pslice said:
    Musk needs to retire his mouth. 
    He just bought Twitter. He isn’t going to be retiring his mouth (or at least his fingertips).
    Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 65
    SkepticalSkeptical Posts: 183member
    Dear God can you stop giving his pontifications oxygen and hopefully he will fade into obscurity. One could hope. 
    leavingthebiggDogpersonqwerty52jahbladewatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 65
    toyshootoyshoo Posts: 3member
    so says Musk who's Tesla's radios won't work after a software update
    JFC_PADogpersonlolliverBeatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 65
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    Hmm. What's the margin on his cars as well as software upgrades?
    KTRDogpersonlolliverBeatsdarelrexjahbladewatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 15 of 65
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,118member
    mike1 said:
    Hmm. What's the margin on his cars as well as software upgrades?
    I was thinking the markup on power at Superchargers might be a better parallel.

    25 cents/KW for post 2017 purchases. Article had 13.5 cents/KW for the home rate. Plus expected markup beyond that if you charge a non-Tesla using a CCS adapter.
    DogpersonlolliverstompyAppleSince1976watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 65
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    mknelson said:
    mike1 said:
    Hmm. What's the margin on his cars as well as software upgrades?
    I was thinking the markup on power at Superchargers might be a better parallel.

    25 cents/KW for post 2017 purchases. Article had 13.5 cents/KW for the home rate. Plus expected markup beyond that if you charge a non-Tesla using a CCS adapter.
    Good comparison. 100%.
    KTRDogpersonBeatsdarelrexAppleSince1976watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 65
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Musk is an ass but he's right on this one. 

    Apple charges a heavy commission and then had the audacity to implement ads in the App Store.  "Just dig down a bit deeper if you want to get to the front of the line. Never mind that we acquired Chomp to make finding good apps easier in the store" 

    Apple is a business that needs to make profits so what they give with the right hand they must take a bit back with the left. 
    JWSCelijahg
  • Reply 18 of 65
    Is Elon about to announce that he's running for congress? 
    His words sound like those of a politician - lots of drivel.

    Either that or not content with about to **** twitter he wants to do the same to Apple.
    And to think that I almost bought a Model S in 2018. Now... I will never ever buy anything made by a company that he controls.

    I have been thinking, ever since he started trying to by TWITter, that he is going to run for President in 2024.
  • Reply 19 of 65
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    …says the guy whose company just quit providing chargers for the electric vehicles they sell so customers have to pay $2-400 to buy one separately. (Oh, wait - he was just copying Apple!)
    KTRlolliverBeatscoolfactorcornchipwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 20 of 65
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    I despise narrow minded haters. 84% of apps on the AppStore are free and Apple makes negative dollars on them. 16% are paid apps where Apple makes  a very reasonable and industry standard rate of 15% to 30%. 
    I wonder what would be the price per kWh at Tesla charging stations if 84% of their customers didn’t have to pay.
    badmonksconosciutoJWSCEsquireCatschiaKTRDogpersonlolliverstompyharrykatsaros
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