At this point it is uncertain when Musk is going to re-release Twitter Blue which had been slated for this Friday. What is for certain is the price will go up by 1¢ to $8 USD and he does not like giving Apple a 30% cut. This is a continuation of Musk’s current quarrel with Apple Inc. 251,04 +2,91 +1,17%. which Musk had Tweeted about this on Monday claiming Apple ‘threatened to withhold Twitter‘ from the Apple app store (but they would  not say why). Mush hasn’t provide much details about this nor about his below Tweet also from Monday.

Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022

Twitter CEO Elon Musk was planning to bring back Twitter Blue this week, but then he got frustrated with Apple, and now nobody knows when the subscription service will relaunch. But it seems Musk has decided that when Twitter Blue—initially exclusively offered to iPhone and iPad users—comes back, the service will likely not be available for purchase in the Apple App Store.

According to a Platformer report, a Twitter product manager shared an internal message saying that Twitter Blue is being further delayed to “make some tweaks.” The biggest tweak seems to be requiring phone number authentication for Twitter Blue subscribers, while the smallest tweak is raising the price from $7.99 to $8. Forbes reported that this version of Twitter Blue was intended to be available this Friday, but Musk’s push to quickly get as many paid subscriptions as possible shifted when Apple suspended advertising on Twitter and, according to Musk, threatened to drop the app from its store.

It remains unclear how Musk’s concludes Apple’s lack of advertising is related to them hating free speech. However, in regards to why Apple might be threating to withhold the Twitter App may be due to certain content (or individuals) Apple wants blocked which goes against Musk’s ‘Free Speech’ narrative for Twitter. Apple’s threat of App removal from their App Store was the reason Tumblr banned nudity in 2018. Could also possibly be due to Twitter no longer enforcing their COVID Misinformation Policy. It will be interesting to see what happens as Twitter Blue has only been available to iOS users (not web or Android). If Apple does yank Twitter of the App Store, that is going to be yet another blow to Musk’s plans to bail out Twitter with new Twitter Blue subscriptions.  We already know Musk does not the like the way Twitter performs on Android (as well as anyone who attempts to explain to him the real reasons why this is). But the big question is: Does Musk even have the staff to relaunch Twitter Blue as a web based app not tied to Apple or Google devices?

via Ars Technica