--- title: "Elon Musk’s Ingenious Plan to Avoid Apple’s 30% Fee: Charge 30% More" description: "Twitter owner Elon Musk might have a new way to solve his App Store problem: just charge iOS users 30 percent extra for a Twitter Blue subscription." date: "2022-12-12" modified: "2022-12-12" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musks-apple-charge-30-percent-more" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "social media" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # Elon Musk’s Ingenious Plan to Avoid Apple’s 30% Fee: Charge 30% More ![Twitter owner Elon Musk might have a new way to solve his App Store problem: just charge iOS users 30 percent extra for a Twitter Blue subscription.]() *\Image: Carina Johansen via Getty / Futurism\* ## Genius Time Twitter, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest man, doesn't know how stores work. Or, rather, he only just learned. The evidence: his recent "[battle]()" with Apple, which Musk launched [in part]() over his shock and dismay regarding Apple's "[secret]()" 30 percent cut at its App Store. (The App Store is, in fact, a store, and Musk, who only recently acquired Twitter, was horrified to learn that stores have a way of making money off the things they sell.) But after a [brisk fall walk]() at Apple HQ, Musk and Apple's Tim Cook [have resolved]() their differences. And now, the Twitter owner has a clever new means to solve his 30 percent App Store problem: just charge iOS users 30 percent extra for a Twitter Blue subscription, as [Twitter announced]() over the weekend. Voilà! ## Apples and Oranges Musk's Twitter Blue pricing saga has been chaotic, to say the least. Shortly after he became the platform's CEO, Musk announced that Twitter Blue subscriptions, which would offer blue verification checkmarks to anyone willing to cough up the cash, would cost upwards of 20 bones a month. Plenty of folks griped about the price tag, but Musk laughed them off — until beloved horror author [Stephen King piped up]() about his own distaste, that is. Shortly thereafter, the SpaceX founder announced that a Twitter Blue subscription would instead be eight dollars a month. But between that shift from 20 to eight dollars every month, Musk apparently never took the App Store's cut into consideration. As it stands, iOS users will be required to pay $11 per month for the app. For other users, it'll cost just $8. ## Ch-ch-changes In addition to the price changes, Twitter announced [in a thread]() that it'll also be introducing a "review step" for [verification processes]() (groundbreaking), as well as a [new color system]() for verified accounts. Businesses will receive a gold check, while government institutions' check will be grey. Per [that thread](), subscribers will also get perks such as an Edit Tweet option and, more curiously, the option to publish longer videos, which is likely a Twitter bid to compete with TikTok. Twitter Blue has been a journey, and it's yet to reach the destination — mostly because the man in charge doesn't exactly seem to have a map. Anyway. Apple users, our condolences. **READ MORE:** *[Elon Musk relaunches Twitter Blue with higher price for iPhone]()[ users]()* \[*NPR*\] **More on Musk's Twitter:** *[Elon Musk Is Hiring Relatives at Twitter in Literal Nepotism]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()