Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) chief Elon Musk has criticised Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s App Store fees, saying the cut they take from developers was "definitely not ok" and likening it to a "30% tax on the internet".
It is "literally 10 times higher than it should be" he added.
Apple takes 30% from app developers whose revenue through the App Store exceeds US$1mln annually, however, the iPhones titan has cut its fees to 15% for small developers through its Small Business Developer Programme.
Musk raised his concerns in light of a complaint by European regulators that Apple was abusing its dominant position to stifle competition for its mobile payment system, Apple Pay.
Apple's App Store has been criticised by Musk several times in the past, with Musk calling out Apple last July for creating a walled garden and said Tesla would never do so.
"I think we do want to emphasise that our goal is to support the advent of sustainable energy," Musk said at the time in response to a question about drivers of non-Tesla cars using the company's chargers, which the company has only just started to allow.
"It is not to create a walled garden and use that to bludgeon our competitors which is used by some companies."
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB), also took aim at Apple in a June 2021 blog post explaining that Facebook would not charge creators for works posted on the social media platform until 2023.
"When we do introduce a revenue share, it will be less than the 30% that Apple and others take," Zuckerberg said.
PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), the payments platform Musk co-founded and later sold, played a crucial role in the potential European regulatory crackdown on Apple Pay, according to a Bloomberg report, with the company complaining to the European Commission about the iPhone maker's business practices.
US regulators are currently considering action against Apple and Google for their business practices in the app store. According to the Open App Markets Act legislation, online marketplace operators would not be allowed to give their own app preferential treatment, among other measures aimed at leveling the playing field.