Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that if Google and Apple censor apps or act as gatekeepers, Tesla will be forced to make smartphones. Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast with the US-based actor, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, taekwondo practitioner, TV personality and podcaster, Musk added that Tesla has no plans to launch a smartphone.
To recall, the term Gatekeepers generally refers to someone or something that controls access to a particular place or information or resource, or decides who is allowed to proceed or enter a particular situation or opportunity.
Rumors and information about the Tesla smartphone have been circulating for years; But Musk addresses this issue in his recent interview and says that he does not have any smartphones under construction. He adds that Tesla may be in a better position than other companies to make a non-Android, non-iOS smartphone, while pointing to the automaker’s software.
“This is not something we want to do,” says the American billionaire. Unless we have to. “If Apple and Android start doing nasty things (like censoring apps), then I guess we’ll make a phone.”
Regulatory agencies around the world, especially the European Union, believe that Apple and Google are, to varying degrees, the gatekeepers of the smartphone world; However, these arguments have pros and cons.
Tesla’s entertainment system in its cars provides access to various programs and games, on the other hand, the aforementioned system can play the role of a base operating system for non-Android smartphones. SpaceX’s Starlink satellite services can also connect Tesla smartphones.
Tesla is currently testing SMS support service and emergency alerts on T-Mobile smartphones, and it seems much easier than building a smartphone with a proprietary operating system. Microsoft did not stop trying to develop Windows Phone applications; But Google refused to provide services to Microsoft’s platform, and it may also hinder Tesla.
In another move, Amazon realized with its Fire Phone in 2014; Even with Android development, there is no guarantee of success. The Amazon phone had a forked version of Android called Fire OS; One of the advantages of Fire Phone was the presence of Amazon’s exclusive application store.
Currently, millions of Americans have remained loyal to the Cupertino giant thanks to iMessage; Even now it is possible to send text messages between iPhone and Android phones with the RCS feature; RCS is an upgraded version of SMS/MMS messaging that offers more features and communication via Wi-Fi and mobile data; Therefore, the said feature is another obstacle in front of Tesla’s potential phone.
Finally, since Musk bought social network X (formerly Twitter), the company’s value has plummeted. Mask’s management on Twitter may be repeated for Tesla’s smartphone and cause its possible failure.
