Elon Musk claims he will create his own smartphone if Apple removes Twitter from the App Store

Elon Musk has been tweeting again, and this time he’s come after Apple.

The new Twitter CEO claims that Apple has ‘threatened to withhold Twitter’ from the App Store, but that he has been left in the dark as to why that is.

While this may be the case, tensions have been growing between him and Tim Cook’s company recently with regards to content moderation.

What’s more, Mr Musk has also eluded to making an ‘alternative phone’ if his social network is permanently banned from both the Apple and Google app stores.

Elon Musk has eluded to making an ‘alternative phone’ if his social network is permanently banned from both the Apple and Google app stores

The new Twitter CEO claims that Apple has ‘threatened to withhold Twitter’ from the App Store, but that he has been left in the dark as to why that is

Both companies have their own policies in place which prevent hate speech, discrimination and harassment on the apps they host.

While neither has responded to Musk’s allegation specifically, Apple CEO Tim Cook has told CBS News that Twitter execs ‘say that they are going to continue to moderate’ and he’s ‘counting on’ them to do so.

However, Mr Musk’s recent moves may suggest otherwise, like saying he will grant a reprieve to accounts that have not ‘broken the law or engaged in egregious spam’.

He has already welcomed back Donald Trump, but the former US president decided not to rejoin, feeling more at home on his own social network Truth Social.

Shortly after, Phil Schiller, an Apple Fellow responsible for leading the App Store, deleted his Twitter account after being active on it since 2008.

This alluded to tension between the two companies, but it has not affected Mr Musk’s heavy criticism of Apple’s decisions.

He recently tweeted the company had ‘mostly stopped advertising’ on Twitter, meaning they could be joining the other at least 50 companies who have done so since he took over.

The Twitter head also accused Apple of applying a ‘hidden 30% tax’ to in-app purchases of those the App Store hosts.

This tax would eat into his profit margins if he does relaunch its $8-per-month Twitter Blue subscription service later this week.

In response to a tweet from a right wing podcast host, who suggested he should build his own smartphone as an alternative to ‘biased, snooping iPhone & Android’, he said he would consider one as a last resort

Even before Mr Musk took the helm, Twitter has been at odds with Apple about its content moderation, or lack thereof.

In an interview with the New York Times, the site’s former head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth said his team would often be contacted by reps with gripes over racial slurs and sexual content.

Apple has also suspended popular apps that do not abide by its store’s moderation rules in the past, like the ‘free speech’ Twitter alternative Parler.

It was removed in the wake of the US Capitol riot in January 2021, but was reinstated three months later after the app made its moderation policies more stringent.

In recent weeks, Twitter users have said they’ve seen a dramatic increase in racist and anti-Semitic tweets – as well as far more scams – on the social network.

According to Bloomberg, Twitter has fired many contractors who worked on policing the deluge of tweets for misinformation and hate speech under the site’s rules.

While it would certainly be a huge loss to Twitter if the app was booted from the App Store and Google Play Store, the ‘Chief Twit’ has promised that he won’t back down.

In response to a tweet from a right wing podcast host, who suggested he should build his own smartphone as an alternative to ‘biased, snooping iPhone & Android’, he said he would consider one as a last resort.