According to a source, Apple spends more than $100 million on Twitter advertising each year, despite Elon Musk’s escalating criticism of the tech giant.
Twitter relies heavily on revenue from Apple, the world’s largest technology company. According to those familiar with the situation, it has an entire team dedicated to its connection with Twitter and spends more than $100 million on advertising each year.
According to the Washington Post, Apple was Twitter’s top advertiser in the first quarter of the year, spending $48 million on ads.
According to the Post, Apple’s investment in the platform accounted for more than 4% of Twitter’s income that quarter.
As Musk wrote on Monday, Apple had “largely stopped advertising on Twitter,” adding, “Do they hate free speech in America?”
“What exactly is going on here, Tim Cook?” Musk inquired in a subsequent tweet.
It is unclear whether Apple has pulled ad spending from Twitter, and neither Apple nor Twitter reacted promptly to Insider’s requests for comment.
Musk stated in a tweet that Apple “threatened to remove Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why.”
On Monday, the billionaire CEO took aim at the tech business on Twitter, slamming the 30% fee that companies like Twitter pay for sales made in Apple’s App Store.
Musk also launched a poll in which users were asked whether Apple should “broadcast all censorship acts,” with roughly two million people voting thus far.
Earlier this month, Musk complained about “excessive” App Store prices.
Soon after, Phil Schiller, an Apple official in charge of the App Store, canceled his Twitter account, which had over 200,000 followers.
According to Bloomberg, if Twitter gets removed from the App Store, it will lose access to 1.5 billion devices worldwide.
Apple joins a list of firms that have halted Twitter advertising, including Audi, Pfizer, General Motors, Volkswagen, and others.
