Elon Musk Takes a Dig at Apple, Says Tesla Won’t ‘Bludgeon Its Competitors’ By Making Its Tech Incompatible With Other Companies’ Products
Elon Musk said Tesla wouldn’t build a “walled garden” around its tech to “bludgeon” competitors.
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Elon Musk criticized Apple twice during .
In one not-so-veiled reference to Apple, Musk said Tesla would not create a “walled garden” around its technology.
“It is our goal to support the advent of sustainable energy,” Musk said. “It is not to create a walled garden and use that to bludgeon our competitors, which is sometimes used by some companies.”
Musk then faked a cough and said “Apple.”
The is a term used to describe Apple’s close control over which technology is compatible with its devices. For example, you can download apps onto iPhones only from Apple’s App Store.
Related: Tesla’s Earnings Reach Record-Breaking High of Over $1 Billion
Apple’s tight control over its services has led , and the European Union’s commissioner for competition .
Tesla announced last week it would by the end of this year. This would be the opposite of a walled-garden practice — though Musk has a long history of .
During the earnings call, Musk also said Apple used a lot more cobalt than Tesla to make batteries. “There’s somehow a misconception that Tesla uses a lot of cobalt, but we actually don’t,” Musk said.
Related: Where Does Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) Go From Here?
Both companies were named in a , who said their children were killed or maimed working in cobalt mines to supply the metal to major tech companies.
While Tesla and Apple do not produce competing products at the moment, Apple’s has .
Apple did not immediately respond when contacted by Insider about Musk’s comments.
Elon Musk criticized Apple twice during .
In one not-so-veiled reference to Apple, Musk said Tesla would not create a “walled garden” around its technology.
“It is our goal to support the advent of sustainable energy,” Musk said. “It is not to create a walled garden and use that to bludgeon our competitors, which is sometimes used by some companies.”
