Elon Musk delays the launch of Twitter Blue again, this time to spite Apple

Twitter CEO Elon Musk had said Twitter Blue would relaunch this coming Fridaybut the social media company is now delaying the launch as it tries to avoid paying Apple’s 30% cut to subscription revenue, it reports. Platform, a newsletter from tech journalists Casey Newton and Zoe Schiffer.

Twitter’s offer to withhold Apple’s commission for iOS app store purchases coincides with Musk’s broadside against the iPhone maker, which launched with a series of tweets this week. On Monday, Musk claimed Apple had done it has pulled most of its ads from Twitter and had threatened to kick the social network from the iOS app store.

When Twitter Blue finally launches, it should look different than Musk originally proposed. The service will ask users to verify their phone number and will cost $8, a cent more than its previous price of $7.99, it reports. Platform.

Neither Twitter nor Apple immediately responded to a request for comment. Twitter reportedly no longer has a communications department. Apple has not publicly acknowledged Musk’s claims.

Musk has complained about the 30% commission as part of his growing feud with Apple. “Did you know that Apple charges a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store?”, Musk tweeted on Monday.

In the tech world, the tax is hardly a secret. Indeed, in an effort to evade Apple’s subscription cut, Musk and Twitter are joining a long-running battle between those who run smartphone app stores, like Apple and Googleand software developers, including big names like Meta and Spotify.

Apple and Google take a cut of all in-app purchases users make through their smartphone app stores, including subscriptions to services like Twitter Blue. The fee can be as high as 30%, although both Apple and Google have reduced the fee for smaller developers in recent years.

In 2020, Epic Games, the developers of Fortnite video game, sued Apple, arguing the 30% cut and the iPhone maker’s rules to ensure developers pay for it were anti-competitive.

In 2021, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers governed that Apple had to allow developers to link to payment systems outside the iOS app store, which would have sidestepped the 30% cut, but stopped short of declaring Apple a monopoly. Epic Games is attractive the sentence.

Twitter may try to send its users to payment services outside of the iOS app store, a tactic that could keep the 30% revenue cut in Twitter’s pockets rather than Apple’s.

Twitter Blue’s most recent delay is the latest setback for the service, which has been pushed back multiple times since its disastrous launch.

Moss originally introduced the paid verification service on November 6th. Out of the box, some Twitter Blue subscribers impersonated the official accounts of companies like Eli Lilly, Lockheed Martin And nintendosharing jokes and false information. Twitter quickly suspended service.

Musk did not provide a clear indication of when the service would return. The Twitter CEO first tweeted that the service he would come back on Nov. 29, but has since said Twitter Blue was “postponed indefinitely,” then would be launched on 2 December.