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Elon Musk has teased that he may create an "alternative" to the iPhone if Twitter is booted from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
The Twitter CEO made the comment on Friday (November 25) following speculation that the Twitter app could be removed from app stores if Musk's social media site doesn't adhere to their guidelines.
The world's richest man was replying to a tweet from conservative commentator Liz Wheeler. She wrote: “If Apple & Google boot Twitter from their app stores, @elonmusk should produce his own smartphone.
READ MORE: Elon Musk hit with new blow as 50 top advertisers step away from newly-purchased Twitter
"Half the country would happily ditch the biased, snooping iPhone & Android. The man builds rockets to Mars, a silly little smartphone should be easy, right?”
Musk replied: "I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone."
Wheeler also created a Twitter poll asking her followers whether they would switch to a "tELONphone". The results were marginal, with 51.2% saying "yes" and 48.8% "no".
It awaits to be seen whether Twitter will be removed from app stores, but speculation is rife following an op-ed in the New York Times written by Yoel Roth, the former head of trust and safety at Twitter.
Roth said app stores represent the "most significant check on unrestrained free speech on the mainstream internet".
He wrote: "Failure to adhere to Apple’s and Google’s guidelines would be catastrophic, risking Twitter’s expulsion from their app stores and making it more difficult for billions of potential users to get Twitter’s services.
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"This gives Apple and Google enormous power to shape the decisions Twitter makes."
There is also the issue of Phil Schiller, a senior Apple executive who runs the company’s App Store.
Prior to Musk's $44billion (£36.4bn) takeover of Twitter, Schiller boasted an account with over 200,000 followers.
Schiller then deleted his account when Musk took charge of the social media site.
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