Tesla CEO Elon Musk let rip at Apple during an earnings call over the tech giant’s use of cobalt in its batteries, and fixation with controlling software used on its devices.
Musk, 50, went after Apple for its use of cobalt in its iPhone and Mac batteries and the famously-control it exerts over software used on its popular devices.
When asked about raw materials used in its car batteries, Musk said the company uses significantly less cobalt than Apple, whose headquarters is in Cupertino, California.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sniped at Apple for its use of cobalt in batteries and how it does business
Musk said Tesla uses 2% cobalt while Apple uses 100% in its batteries
‘And there’s somehow a misconception that Tesla uses a lot of cobalt, but we actually don’t,’ Musk said, according to a transcript of the call. ‘Apple uses I think almost 100 percent cobalt in their batteries in cellphones and laptops.’
‘But Tesla uses no cobalt in our iron phosphate packs, and almost none in the nickel-based chemistries,’ Musk added.
‘On a weighted average basis, we might use two percent cobalt compared to say Apple’s 100 percent cobalt. Anyway, it’s really just not a pack that we expect to basically have zero cobalt in the future.’
This is not the first time Musk has taken shots at Apple, despite revealing in 2020 that he approached the company and CEO Tim Cook about an acquisition, but Cook did not take his call.
In 2018, he said Apple was not as innovative as it used to be and three years prior, he called Apple a ‘Tesla graveyard’ for ex-Tesla employees.
The two tech giants do not directly compete with one another at the minute, although Apple is reportedly working on an electric vehicle under Project Titan, which is led by ex-Tesla employee Doug Field.
At the company’s Battery Day Event in September 2020, Tesla said it would eventually make its batteries with cobalt-free cathodes due to the way it is mined and the havoc it wreaks on the environment.
Cobalt has been referred to as the ‘blood diamond of batteries,’ according to The Verge.
Both companies, along with several other tech giants, were named in a 2019 lawsuit by an international humans right group over how cobalt is mined by young children.
In Apple’s 2021 environmental progress report, the tech giant said 100 percent of its smelters and refiners of cobalt (along with other metals) participated in an independent third-party audit.
The company added that it is ‘prioritizing’ 14 materials, including cobalt, in the hopes of upping the amount of recycled material used, or replacing them altogether.
‘We’ve worked to increase our recycled cobalt year after year— doubling the amount of recycled material used in fiscal year 2020 from the previous year,’ Apple wrote in the report.
‘And the cobalt from iPhone batteries disassembled by its recycling robot Daisy is being returned to the general market. This more efficient and economical approach makes the material available to others beyond our supply chain, and continues to create a positive environmental benefit.’
Apple has not yet responded to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
Musk also had some choice words for how Apple goes about its business, with its so-called ‘walled garden’ approach to how it controls all facets of its products, including the software, hardware and other aspects.
‘But I think we do want to emphasize that it is our goal, to support the advent of sustainable energy, it is not to create a walled garden and use that to bludgeon our competitors, which is sometimes used by some companies,’ Musk said in reference to a question about it opening up its Supercharger network to competitors.
Musk then fake coughed and said, ‘Apple.’
This is not the first time Musk has taken shots at Apple, despite revealing in 2020 that he approached the company and CEO Tim Cook about an acquisition, though Cook did not take his call
Earlier this month, DailyMail.com reported that Musk had confirmed it would open up its global network of 25,000 Supercharger stations to other electric car makers by the end of 2021.
In the US, Tesla’s cars use the company’s proprietary connector, which means automakers who want to access the 900-plus charging stations the company operates domestically would have to provide an adapter to its drivers.
In Europe, Tesla uses a CCS direct current connector, which has become an international standard.
It’s unclear at this point if Tesla will start with Superchargers in one region or open up its global network all at once.
Apple has come under pressure from competitors and lawmakers alike over its App Store policies, and has been sued by Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, for having a monopoly on the iPhone, iOS ecosystem and the App Store.
Last month, Cook called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to warn over the ‘rushed’ antitrust bills that are floating around Capitol Hill.
