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Elon Musk might make an 'alternative' to iPhone, Android phones if...

Elon Musk, founder, CEO and lead designer at SpaceX and co-founder of Tesla (REUTERS)

On Saturday a Twitter user asked, "If Apple & Google boot Twitter from their app stores, @elonmusk should produce his own smartphone. 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".

Several users expressed their thoughts on Musk's post.

While one commented, “I bet he will revolutionise the smartphones," another said, “I feel somehow like this plan is already in the works.

Another user wrote, “I would buy your phone in literally 2 seconds. I’m so fed up with iPhone and android and am desperate for an alternative".

Meanwhile, Musk on Friday said that Twitter plans to relaunch its premium service that will offer different coloured check marks to accounts next week, in a fresh move to revamp the service after a previous attempt backfired.

Twitter previously suspended the premium service, which under Musk granted blue-check labels to anyone paying $8 a month, because of a wave of imposter accounts.

Originally, the blue check was given to government entities, corporations, celebrities and journalists verified by the platform to prevent impersonation.

In the latest version, companies will get a gold check, governments will get a gray check, and individuals who pay for the service, whether or not they're celebrities, will get a blue check, Musk said on Friday.

“All verified accounts will be manually authenticated before check activates," he said, adding it was “Painful, but necessary" and promising a “longer explanation" next week. He said the service was “tentatively launching" on December 2.

Twitter had put the revamped premium service on hold days after its launch earlier this month after accounts impersonated companies including pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co., Nintendo, Lockheed Martin, and even Musk's own businesses Tesla and SpaceX, along with various professional sports and political figures.

It was just one change in the past two days. On Thursday, Musk said he would grant “amnesty" for suspended accounts, following the results of an online poll he conducted on whether accounts that have not “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam" should be reinstated.

The yes vote was 72%. Such online polls are anything but scientific and can easily be influenced by bots. Musk also used one before restoring former US President Donald Trump's account.

“The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei," Musk tweeted on Thursday using a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people, the voice of God".

Online safety experts predict the move would spur a rise in harassment, hate speech, and misinformation. It's also likely to put the company on a crash course with European regulators seeking to clamp down on harmful online content with tough new rules.

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