In this Jan. 3, 2019, file photo the Apple logo is displayed at the Apple store in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Mary Altaffer, File/Associated Press, file
Elon Musk on Monday went on a tear against top Twitter advertiser Apple, after he said the company threatened to block the social network from its App Store without explanation and mostly had stopped advertising on Twitter.
The tirade underscored the immense power that Apple wields over Twitter’s success, and the role it could play in serving as a check against Musk’s chaotic rein at the social network. If the company were to block Twitter from its App Store, new users would be unable to download the Twitter app on their iPhones and iPads, and existing users would be unable to access updates.
Apple is also among the highest advertising spenders on Twitter, and Musk sought to put pressure on the company and CEO Tim Cook in a series of tweets for pausing that spend.
Apple was the seventh largest advertiser on Twitter in the five months before Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, with its ads shown nearly 2 billion times to American users, according to estimates from digital analytics firm Pathmatics.
Apple did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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