Musk Says Apple Isn’t Removing Twitter App, Easing Standoff

(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk met with Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook at the iPhone maker’s headquarters on Wednesday, signaling a detente in a brewing war between the technology companies.

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Musk posted a video on Twitter of a pond at the Apple Park headquarters where a shadow of the Twitter owner and Apple’s top executive can be seen briefly. A few hours after the meeting, Musk said that the two had a “good conversation” and “resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store.” Musk said the Apple CEO was “clear that Apple never considered doing so.”

The remarks contradict Musk’s own claims from earlier this week, when he said Apple “threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store” and that the company wouldn’t tell Twitter why. Apple and Twitter representatives frequently meet to discuss app issues and development, a strategy that Apple uses with with other major third-party services, Bloomberg News has reported.

Musk began criticizing Apple after the iPhone maker reduced its advertising spending on Twitter, joining a broader exodus that followed the contentious billionaire taking ownership of the social network. Musk launched multiple attacks on Apple via Twitter, reposting a parody video of the company’s famous “1984” ad for the Mac and suggesting that Apple hated “free speech in America.”

Ahead of the relaunch of Twitter Blue, the company’s $8-per-month subscription offering, Musk also took aim at Apple’s revenue share agreement for the App Store. “Did you know Apple puts a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store?” Musk wrote.

Apple didn’t respond to requests for comment on the meeting.

(Updated with more details from meeting starting in second paragraph.)

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