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Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, has spoken out to support Epic Games in their ongoing legal battle with mega-giant Apple.

Musk was tweeting out that the App Store fees are a "de facto global tax on the internet." He also said that Epic is on the right side of the conversation.

Apple takes a 30 percent commission of all App Store purchases in games, which has been standard practice in the games industry since the store was established. Musk further states that Apple does "almost zero incremental work" and that taking a cut of this size is "completely unreasonable".

Musk supports Epic says "Epic is right"

Fortnight game creator Epic Games sued Apple last August. This was following Apple's removal of Fortnite from their App Store. 

Apple claimed Epic was breaching their App Store contract by allowing the in-game currency to be purchased via the third-party Epic storefront.

"Normally, competitive pressure would force Apple to lower fees, but Apple and Android have a duopoly on phones. When interface familiarity is taken into account, it’s basically a monopoly," Musk continued.

Epic Responds

Sharing Musk’s tweet, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney shared Musk’s tweet, and added: "The Apple Tax is far more pernicious than many realize." 

"It only applies to digital goods accessible on iOS.' they say. But in the future, all physical goods will have a digital presence. And Apple will tax and 'gatekeep world commerce. Apple must be stopped."

Epic Games also announced they are partnering in an event with U.S. singer Ariana Grande. Her headline performance of Fortnite’s Rift Tour event is creating a lot of excitement. 

Coalition for App Fairness

The Coalition for App Fairness was formed last year. It is made up of media and development companies “demanding that Apple do better.”

Musk supports Epic Games in the midst of the ongoing court battle. But other “Big Tech” players like Facebook have sided with the coalition. Or at least voiced concern.

In September 2020, the coalition outlined their case. They were showing Apples’ “exploitative” and “anti-competitive” policies. And specifically targeting Apple’s 1) anti-competitive practices that favor its apps over competitors, 2) excessive fees of 15 to 30% in the App Store, and 3) ban on competing for app stores and payment methods.

Apple is indicating they are now fairer. It was announced that their App Store developers are being paid 48 percent more since 2020.