Elon Musk Suddenly Teases Apple, What's Up?

 


As CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk’s business is not in direct competition with Apple. But all of a sudden Musk taunts the iPhone manufacturer, what’s wrong?
While not in direct competition, Apple is reportedly developing an autonomous electric car under the Titan project. The project attracted many Tesla employees who later moved to Apple, including former Tesla Senior Vice President of Engineering Doug Field.



In a call with investors about Tesla’s earnings, Musk was asked about Tesla’s supply chain. He says there is a misconception that Tesla uses a lot of cobalt, a key ingredient in the production of batteries used in cell phones and electric cars.





“I think, Apple uses, almost 100% cobalt in their batteries and phones as well as laptops, but Tesla doesn’t use cobalt in its iron-phosphate packs, and it’s almost non-existent in nickel-based chemistry,” Musk said. / 7/2021).



"On average we might use 2% cobalt compared to for example, Apple which uses 100% cobalt. So that's actually not a factor."



Musk stressed the use of cobalt because the mineral is widely mined in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and is marked by cases of human rights violations, such as child labor.



In 2019, Apple, Tesla and other tech companies were sued by families in Congo who said their children died or were injured after mining cobalt for their suppliers.



Not long after, Musk returned to call Apple on the call. He alluded to Apple’s practice of shutting down its ecosystem and controlling what apps can be installed on the App Store.



The system, often referred to as a ‘walled garden’, is being scrutinized by regulators and other enterprises, including in anti -competitive conferences after Apple was sued by Epic Games.



“I think we want to emphasize that our goal is to support the advent of sustainable energy,” Musk said when answering a question about allowing competitors to use his network of car chargers.



“This is not to make a walled garden and use it to beat our competitors, which are used by some companies,” he continued.



Pretending to cough, Musk then said, "Apple."
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