Musk vows to produce own smartphone if Apple and Google boot Twitter

3 years ago 1

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Elon Musk has said he will produce his own smartphone if Apple and Google decide to remove Twitter from their app stores.

While the Twitter CEO said he hoped that would not be the case but added that he would not have a choice but to “make an alternative phone”.

Podcast host Liz Wheeler posed the idea in a Twitter post, adding that she believes half of the US would happily switch from the Apple and Android ecosystems.

“If Apple & Google boot Twitter from their app stores, @elonmusk should produce his own smartphone. Half the country would happily ditch the biased, snooping iPhone & Android,” she said.

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

She backed up her claim with a poll asking her followers if they would switch to a “tELONphone”. The poll shows that 51.2% of respondents would make the transition.

“I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone,” Musk responded a few hours later.

Wheeler’s suggestion comes following concerns over how Apple and Google will deal with Musk’s self-proclaimed commitment to free speech.

According to Gizmodo, both companies have policies in place that ban apps containing hate or discriminatory speech, bullying, harassment, and sexually explicit content.

Musk’s plan to reduce speech censorship on Twitter could lead to a breach of these policies, in which case the companies could be forced to ban the app.