Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk hasn't ever shied away from taking a dig at tech giant Apple Inc. There is no love lost between the two ever since Apple refused to take up Musk's offer to acquire the EV maker in 2017 when the going was tough amid the introduction of the Model 3 vehicle.
What Happened:In a recent development, Musk indicated that he has canceled Apple News,a news aggregator app developed by Cupertino for its iOS, iPadOS, WatchOS and MacOS.
Musk's disclosure comes in the form of a reply to a tweet by Ross Gerber, CEO at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management.Gerber said in the tweet that he canceled Apple News as it was a major source of negativity in my life.
Musk was quick to respond with a terse reply:
Same
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)August 18, 2021
Why It's Important:While Apple News is a free app, the company also offers a subscription service called Apple News+. The former focuses on straight news, while the latter provides lengthier magazine content and paywalled content from prestigious news sources.
Neither Gerber nor Musk made it clear whether the cancellation pertained to the free or the premium service.
Apple News is part of the company's Services segment, which is emerging as a high-growth and high-margin business. Apple News+ could hit 19 million subscriber count by 2023 and rake in $2.2 billion in revenues, a compounded annual growth rate of 31%, the Apple Insider reported, citing Cowen analyst Krish Sankar.
With his credentials as a social media influencer, It remains to be seen if Musk can impact the fortunes of Apple News.