There may very well be an Elon phone coming. It may even be a good one. But it won’t be a real alternative to Android or iPhone.
Late on Friday, Musk replied to a tweet extolling him to build his own phone in case Google and Apple decide to boot the Twitter app off their respective app stores. Also read: The best 10 Twitter apps
“I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone,” answered the new owner of the bird app. The tweet prompted supportive comments from fans, but also a lot of derision from people in tech media.
Why would Musk need an alternative to iPhone and Android? Musk’s comment came after speculation in recent days that Apple and potentially Google could decide to kick Twitter off the App Store and the Play Store. There’s not much to support this speculation — the main fact that prompted it was the decision by Phil Schiller, head of marketing and the App Store at Apple, to deactivate his personal Twitter account.
We don’t know why Schiller deactivated his Twitter, but perhaps it has something to do with the firestorm of controversy that has engulfed the service since Musk took over. Highlights include chaotic layoffs, the botched blue-check-for-money rollout, the decision to reinstate Donald Trump and numerous others suspended accounts, and of course, Musk’s own tweeting, rife with conspiracy-theorist talking points.
