Will make an ‘alternative phone’ if Apple blocks Twitter on App Store: Elon Musk

Elon Musk

Twitter chief Elon Musk wrote in a Friday tweet he would "make an alternative phone" to compete with Apple's iPhone if the tech giant ends up blocking Twitter from its App Store.

Musk made the comments on Friday night in response to conservative commentator Liz Wheeler, who tweeted, "If Apple and Google boot Twitter from their app stores, @elonmusk 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?"

"I certainly hope it does not come to that," Musk replied, "but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone."

Apple has lengthy guidelines for apps, which they need to follow in order to become and remain available as an app on iPhones and other Apple devices. The leading principle of the guidelines is "safety."

Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, said in a New York Times op-ed that the social media giant risks being kicked out of the Apple and Google app stores if they fail to adhere to the guidelines.

“Failure to adhere to Apple and Google’s guidelines would be disastrous, as it risks kicking Twitter out of their app stores and making it more difficult for potential billions of users to obtain Twitter services. This gives Apple and Google enormous power to shape the decisions Twitter makes,” said Roth.

While he was leaving Twitter, Roth said, “the calls from the app review teams really started.”

Since taking over Twitter at the end of October, Musk has made many changes to the platform, including extensive layoffs and firings of personnel, which have led to resignations executives in charge of data privacy and content moderation.