Spotify among Musk's allies in fight against Apple

STORY: Elon Musk has picked a public fight with Apple - and there are at least two companies that may be glad he did.

They are music streaming giant Spotify, and Epic Games – maker of the popular online game Fortnite.

Both have not been happy with Apple’s 30% fees in its App Store.

And, now, neither is Musk.

Musk - who’s recent purchase of Twitter has stirred more than a few controversies – on Monday criticized the fee Apple charges software developers for in-app purchases, and posted a meme suggesting he was willing to "go to war" rather than pay that fee, a tweet he later deleted.

Spotify has previously submitted antitrust complaints against the iPhone-maker in Europe, and Epic Games sued Apple in the U.S. in 2020.

Apple, for its part, has said the commissions help it fund reviews of apps to ensure consumers are not exposed to fraudulent, pornographic or privacy-intrusive apps.

In a series of tweets, Musk on Monday also suggested Apple had threatened to block Twitter from its app store, although he did not explain why, and questioned whether Apple supported free speech.

Apple, Twitter and Spotify did not immediately respond to requests for comment.