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Elon Musk continues at the helm of social media platform Twitter since he bought the company in October 2022.

His distinctive management decisions have led to unexpected consequences, and may eventually lead him to produce his own smartphone.

Responding to a question about what he would do if Apple and Google banned the Twitter app from their app stores, Musk agreed he would make an alternative phone.

"If there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone"

Musk was invited to respond to a hypothetical scenario where both Apple and Google "boot Twitter from their app stores", by American conservative commentator Liz Wheeler, who tweeted about it on Nov. 26.

Wheeler suggested that Musk should produce his own smartphone, saying that "half the country" would ditch their "biased, snooping" iPhones and Android phones.

"The man builds rockets to Mars, a silly little smartphone should be easy, right?" Wheeler tweeted.

Musk responded to her tweet, saying:

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

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

Why might Apple and Google ban Twitter?

Aside from mass layoffs, one of the other notable changes the Tesla CEO has implemented concerns the area of censorship.

When Musk bought Twitter, he said he wanted to facilitate open dialogue between citizens with differing opinions.

He has since taken a very different approach from his predecessor by opting to reinstate Twitter accounts that were previously banned, including the account of former United States President Donald Trump.

Trump's account was previously banned over concerns it was used to spread misinformation.

Apple and Google's history of banning apps

Apple and Google have both taken action against apps which they deemed to have inadequate protections against certain forms of speech.

One example is social media app Parler, which was banned for months on both app stores over how it was allowed to be used by those involved in the Capitol riots in January 2021.

Truth Social, a Twitter-like app which was created by Trump and his supporters after the former president's ban from Twitter, was also banned from Google's app store as it hosted violent threats and other content against Google’s standards.

It has since been allowed after agreeing to comply with Google's content requirements, according to Bloomberg.

Top image via Elon Musk Facebook group