There have been a good number of reports surrounding a potential Tesla phone, with one even claiming that the device is codenamed "Model Pi." In an interview with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk denied these rumors and said that the company isn't "doing a phone."
Referencing the automotive software Tesla vehicles run on, Musk says that the company is "probably" in "a better position" to develop a new phone that could rival Android and iPhone than "any company in the world." However, the company won't do it unless it needs to.
A possible situation where Tesla might come up with a smartphone is when Apple and Google start to do "really bad things," such as censoring apps or gatekeeping. All this signals that Musk doesn't see the need to bring out a new rival in the smartphone space.
Of course, it's not like other big companies didn't try to introduce a third contender in the market. Amazon tried it with the Fire Phone in 2014, which ran a forked version of Android. With a dedicated app store and a prominent online presence, Amazon's smartphone had the potential to be a big rival to Android and iOS, but it ultimately failed for several reasons.
Another notable example is the Windows Phone platform. While Microsoft made a valiant attempt, it just couldn't win over app developers, making it hard for the ecosystem to gain traction. Musk probably has these in consideration, which is likely another reason why the company isn't betting big on a Tesla phone just yet.
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