Musk to Make Phones if Apple and Google removed Twitter from App Store
Tesla CEO and Twitter Chief Elon Musk will make an alternative phone if Apple and Google remove Twitter from their app stores. Many people want Musk to go ahead with the phone launch even if Apple and Google do not remove Twitter.
Elon Musk Could Launch an Alternative Phone
Elon
Musk revealed on Friday that if Apple and Google remove his newly acquired
social media company, he may launch his own smartphone.
Twitter
user Liz Wheeler suggested that Musk should produce his smartphone if Apple and
Google remove Twitter from their app stores, adding that "Half the country
would happily ditch the biased, snooping iPhone and Android." Musk
replied: "I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is
no other choice, I will make an alternative phone."
Musk’s
plans for Twitter as a free speech platform could put the social media company
in conflict with Apple and Google, and the two tech giants could remove Twitter
from their app stores.
The
Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, and even smaller app stores like the
Amazon App Store have rules to protect users from discrimination, bullying,
harassment, and objectionable content. They have delisted apps over inadequate
content moderation practices as well as harmful content. Apple informed
Congress in a letter last year that it had removed over 30,000 apps from its
store due to objectionable content by 2020.
Apple and Google cut off Parler, a social media app focusing on free speech, following the US Capitol riot on January 6. The two companies subsequently allowed the app back in their stores with some content excluded, and after substantial changes to the app’s content moderation practices.
People Want Musk to Release an Alternative Phone
Many
people welcome the idea of Musk releasing an alternative phone. "I’d buy
this." Do it even if the app stays," one Twitter user exclaimed.
Another user said: "Do it anyways. There’s a huge market for an
alternative to Google and Apple." A third user said:
"If
Apple attempted the kind of strike against Twitter that it successfully
launched against Parler, I can
assure you, Elon Musk that
millions of us would unhesitatingly ditch our Apple iPhones and switch to your
alternative model."
Some
people warned about the reality of Musk launching an alternative phone. One
opined: "Even if it’s Elon Musk, there are dominant first movers already
in the space." Another warned: "Even if he wanted to do this, it
would be years before a single phone went on sale. Phones rely on components
from dozens of vendors. Just to get fab space for a processor would take years;
TSMC is booked for years, and Samsung is far behind their node processes."
A
third user shared: "Prediction: A Twitter mobile phone connected to
Starlink: Always on, always connected, anywhere in the world; capable of
encrypted communications and payments, all by Space Law.
Imagine blockchain and communications hosted on microservers in space, beyond
the reach of terrestrial governments."
The
Tesla CEO also complained about the 15% to 30% cut Apple and Google take from
purchases made from apps, which could affect the revenue from Musk’s plans for
USD 8 per month from Twitter verification subscriptions. On Nov. 18, Musk
tweeted:
"App
store fees are too high due to the iOS and Android duopoly. It is a hidden 30%
tax on the Internet."
Musk
recently revealed plans to build X, the all-in-one app. He
said buying Twitter accelerates the creation of X by three to five
years.
Would
you buy Elon Musk’s alternative smartphone to the iPhone and Android? Let us
know in the comments section below.
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