Tesla Smartphone Concept: Will Musk Fail If He Eventually Creates A Smartphone To Replace Android And iPhone?

Recently, Elon Musk said that he would build his own smartphone if one day Apple and Google ban Twitter from being released on their stores.

For the man building a rocket to send humans to Mars, that sounds pretty easy, but building a smartphone that can solve Musk's problem isn't so simple.

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

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2022

Of course, if it's just to produce smartphones, it's probably not too difficult for Musk. It doesn't take long to come up with a new smartphone. There are many companies out there that, for a fee, will design a smartphone for a partner.

Even a relatively small startup like Nothing can come up with an interesting design and a few unique software features.

Elon Musk, despite still having to shoulder the job of running three major companies, can still accomplish this with relative ease.

But Musk's problem is not with the smartphone itself, but with the platform: OS (operating system) + app store + ecosystem. Just look at Microsoft, Huawei, Samsung or Amazon.

All these giant conglomerates have tried and failed to build alternatives to the platforms owned by the Google-Apple duo. They pour in mountains of money, they hire the smartest people, and eventually either give up or get nowhere.

In 2022, launching a new smartphone platform is a conundrum. For a new platform to be successful, you need apps. To get developers to build those apps, you need a successful platform.

Sure, Musk can throw money at the issue like Huawei did when they were cut from the Play Store, but the chances of making any lasting progress are slim. It's all the more complicated when Musk's main rival also has apps that most users consider a must have.

Why is Google helping to build an alternative to the Android platform/Play Store? Why would they build apps for a platform that would collapse or grow into a dangerous competitor?

To fulfill his word, Musk will need to make a new phone (easy), operating system (also easy, just fork Android), app store (slightly more complicated) , an ecosystem of essential apps (very hard) and compelling alternatives to the apps and services offered by Google (extremely difficult).

In other words, Musk will need to do everything Google does with Android, the Play store, the Google suite of apps, and do it incredibly quickly (months, not years). And that's just the beginning of the smartphone war.

While Elon Musk may eventually launch a phone, it might even be a good product, but it won't be a real alternative to Android or iPhone.