Elon Musk says he'll invent a new, 'alternative' phone if Twitter is pulled from App Store

Tesla founder and tech billionaire Elon Musk has now confirmed he will create his own smartphone if Apple and Google decide to pull Twitter from their app stores, as the SpaceX owner continues to try and make his takeover of the platform a success.

After becoming CEO of the social media network late last month, he’s already carried out a mass exodus of staff, ruined the site’s old verification system, and gave former US president Donald Trump his account back after being banned last year following the January 6 insurrection.

These shocking decisions have led to advertisers jumping ship – with the US non-profit Media Matters for America reporting that half of Twitter’s top 100 advertisers have stopped ads on the platform – and current users signing up for accounts on rival sites such as Mastodon and Post.

Now, as his turbulent takeover continues, Musk has confirmed one way in which he plans to futureproof his version of Twitter – specifically, if Twitter is pulled from Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

On Friday, conservative podcaster Liz Wheeler tweeted: “If Apple and Google boot Twitter from their app stores, Elon Musk should produce his own smartphone. Half the country would happily ditch the biased, snooping iPhone and Android.

“The man builds rockets to Mars, a silly little smartphone should be easy, right?”

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In a follow-up tweet, Wheeler polled followers on whether they would use a “tELONphone”.

Yes, we hate it too.

A few hours later, 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.”

While the Twitter app remains on both the App Store and Google Play (for now), relations between Musk and the two tech companies hasn’t been all that great in recent weeks.

Last week, he claimed app store fees are “obviously too high” because of the “iOS/Android duopoly”.

“It is a hidden 30 per cent tax on the internet,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the official Twitter account for Apple has deleted all of its tweets, and the company’s App Store lead Phil Schiller has deactivated his account altogether, so everything is totally fine.

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