TBH this highlights even more how out of touch they are -- too used to living in a bubble where the rich can get what they want and bypass rules that apply to regular folk.
You don't need an iPhone to survive in China. You absolutely need WeChat to survive. For example, you literally can't order food when dining inside a large number of restaurants without WeChat. The menu is in WeChat.
So whatever WeChat (Tencent) wants, Apple has to consider it. Otherwise, Chinese phone makers can and will provide more convenience.
That's where the precedent comes from - WeChat (as well as basically all major Chinese companies) carry state backing to force their way. Musk has afaict no backing from any government, least of all the DoD (who hate his guts for the shit he's pulled with Starlink in Ukraine).
WeChat is literally just Tencent. I'm staying at a hotel next to Tencent office right now in Shenzen. There aren't any military people working here. Just engineers.
Read my post within this chain for why I think WeChat has a lot of power when it comes to getting Apple to create features it needs.