Merely a day after shutting down rumors of a Tesla-branded smartphone, X owner Elon Musk is singing a different tune, saying it is "not out of the question."
What Happened: Musk now thinks a smartphone running on a custom open-source operating system is possible, likely in partnership with a company like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
Musk has been a vocal critic of OpenAI, calling it out for its closed-source approach. Now, with Apple integrating OpenAI's language models and GPT-4o technology in iOS 18, macOS, and iPadOS, Musk has come swinging against Apple as well.
It's not just OpenAI's closed source approach that Musk has criticized – he mocked Apple and said its affinity to closed source is because of "Steve's cultural legacy."
Musk's dislike for closed source, OpenAI, and now Apple's integration of ChatGPT on iPhones has likely done enough to push him towards the idea of making his own phone.
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He also threatened to ban iPhones and other Apple devices from Tesla premises over Apple's Monday announcements, saying it is an "unacceptable security violation."
Later reacting to a user who predicted that Musk will launch an "X OS" powered smartphone in partnership with Samsung, he said it could be a possibility.
"It is not out of the question."
Why It Matters: Musk has been vocal in his criticism of OpenAI, and more recently, Apple.
Amid mounting pressure due to the lack of AI features in iPhones, Apple partnered with Microsoft Corp.-backed OpenAI to bake ChatGPT into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.
Apple took the wraps off its AI efforts at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday, in addition to its own privacy-focused features as part of the "Apple Intelligence" bouquet.
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