Elon Musk Is Giving Advice To Apple?
Elon Musk took to social media to reveal that he had conversations with Apple relating to his satellite-based technology.
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Big tech companies are moving towards utilizing satellites instead of cell towers to provide cellular signals. Phone carriers like Huawei and T-Mobile are advancing their products to include satellite-based communication, an inevitable cellular pathway for future devices. No tech CEO, though, has been more invested in satellite launching than Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX is responsible for launching hundreds of them into space. Now, Musk wants to give Apple advice about the iPhone 14 and its communication upgrades.
Of course, the Tesla CEO decided to hop on Twitter to explain his possible influence on Apple, Mashable reported. Elon Musk tweeted that he had “conversations” with Apple about satellite-based messaging and calling. He added that the conversation centered around using his SpaceX Starlink satellites, which comprise a constellation that provides internet service to more than 40 countries. Though Musk’s launches have been relatively successful, he didn’t indicate that Apple was definitively interested in collaborating with him. Like most of his online activity, his tweet remains unclear and convoluted, but who knows what will happen for Apple and Musk in the future.
Elon Musk and his company SpaceX have already made headlines by partnering with T-Mobile last month. The collaboration will allow upcoming T-Mobile products to have satellite communication functions, which help users send out text messages in areas without cell service. This means that if a person were stranded in a remote location, like out in the ocean or in a dense forest, they would be able to send an emergency message.
A few days before Apple’s iPhone 14 launch, Huawei revealed their Mate 50 Series, which includes smartphones that have satellite-based abilities. Like the SpaceX and T-Mobile partnership, Mate 50 smartphones have satellite texting, giving people helpful safety options in case they’re in an area without a cell signal. So far, this type of communication can only send out messages but can’t receive them. Companies like Starlink are working on advancing the technology, hopefully including satellite-based calling in the future. Huawei’s smartphones are unavailable in the US, so Americans will likely buy the iPhone 1s instead of the Mate 50 for satellite texting.
Though news of Huawei’s innovative smartphones came days before Apple’s iPhone 14 reveal, the former’s devices won’t be available until November. This means that Apple will have the world’s first commercially available phone with satellite-texting abilities. Instead of utilizing Elon Musk’s tech, Apple announced it had partnered with Globalstar to provide the satellite infrastructure. This announcement may put the rumors to bed that Apple and Musk are still in conversation about leasing Starlink’s tech for their upcoming iPhones.
Though Elon Musk loves to use Twitter to his benefit, he’s had a turbulent relationship with the social media platform this year. After making a deal with Twitter’s board to purchase the company for $44 billion, he backed out suddenly over the summer. Now the Tesla CEO is in a legal fight with Twitter about paying his agreed sum from abandoning the deal. It’s been recently revealed that Musk and his lawyers have been inefficient in providing necessary information, with the case’s judge berating Musk for not handing over important texts when asked.
