Needless to say, investors closely follow the company’s trajectory. A Tesla smartphone, which only exists in fantasy so far, could become a reality soon. The company has a history of releasing innovative devices, like its mini EV for kids.
Here are seven reasons why we’d love to see a Tesla smartphone, and the developments it would bring to the mobile world.
1. Possible Starlink Integration
Starlink is an internet service created by another of Elon Musk’s companies, SpaceX. It uses Starlink satellites to provide internet connectivity to areas with limited connectivity. At the moment, you need a terminal that should be mounted towards the sky to access Starlink services (available only in 29 countries).
However, a Tesla smartphone would be likely to have built-in functionality to access Starlink. It only makes sense, given Musk’s proclivity to come up with new innovative technology or features that greatly improve on what’s currently available.
Starlink integration would mean that anyone with a Tesla smartphone can access the internet, without having to rely on their GSM carrier to provide connectivity. This could be an absolute game-changer, redefining our expectations of what mobile phones are capable of, much like Tesla vehicles did.
2. It Would Work With Your Tesla Car
The Tesla app is already incredibly intuitive, letting you perform everyday functions like locking or unlocking your car, summoning it, and controlling media.
However, if a Tesla smartphone is released, we can all but expect that the key functions are going to be deeply embedded into the phone. There’s also the chance that physical controls might be integrated into the device.
Imagine if specific features are available to Tesla smartphone users? For instance, like the Party Mode that was released on previous iterations? Something along those lines would be a fun addition.
3. It Could Support Neuralink
Neuralink is a neurotechnology company that’s working on developing brain-machine interfaces. When asked if Tesla might be developing a smartwatch, Elon Musk himself stated that Neuralink is the future.
In layman’s terms, this means technology that lets you control machines using simply your thoughts. This might still be science fiction at best, but the idea of a phone that supports Neuralink does sound tantalizing.
Imagine controlling your phone using nothing but your brain, without any physical input. It does sound crazy, but then again, most of Musk’s ideas lie comfortably on the border between crazy and sheer genius.
4. It Could Revolutionize Battery Charging
The Tesla smartphone, which some generally refer to as Model Pi, is rumored to feature a glass back, with unique solar charging capabilities. Solar charging is nothing new, but it’s not as effective as you might think.
And, it’s certainly not built directly on the back of a device. But then again, Tesla isn’t known for conforming with industry ideals. The company is renowned for coming up with new and innovative technology, and a smartphone with solar charging directly on its back does seem possible.
It’s pertinent to mention here that Tesla already manufactures solar panels that are already incredibly efficient. And the company has a longstanding tradition of focusing on clean energy only.
Obviously, the phone wouldn’t exclusively rely on solar charging, but it’s also highly likely that the solar charging in the device will be much more efficient than what exists today.
5. Recycled Materials Would Be Common
Given the global chip shortage and the fact that Tesla primarily focuses on using renewable energy and recycled materials, it’s highly likely that a Tesla smartphone would be constructed using recycled materials.
This is fairly obvious, though again, it’s firmly rooted in rumor. All of Tesla’s batteries are 100% recycled, so you can expect that a significant number of components, primarily the battery, will be recycled. Tesla also releases an annual report indicating the total quantities of materials that it recycled, especially including important metals like copper, nickel, and bronze.
6. Tesla Would Focus on Cutting-Edge Tech
The Tesla smartphone would obviously feature cutting-edge technology, so this is the least you can expect. All the major flagship smartphones now use OLED displays, so this is going to be a fair expectation.
A refresh rate of 120Hz is also likely, especially since virtually all the latest flagships now feature a similar refresh rate. 120Hz makes things silky-smooth, improving animations, the browsing experience, and gaming as well. Essentially, what this means is that the screen refreshes 120 times in a second, which really improves animations and app transitions.
7. Could You Buy It With Crypto?
Elon Musk has made no secret of the fact that Dogecoin is his favorite cryptocurrency. In fact, his tweets caused a major spike in Doge, causing it to hit heights of $0.07 at one point.
Needless to say, the entire world immediately turned its collective attention towards Doge, a memecoin. More importantly, Musk announced that the company’s charging network will start accepting Doge as well.
Above all, the Tesla store supports DOGE, with a bunch of products that you can buy using this cryptocurrency. You can go through the store to find items that have the DOGE symbol next to them, meaning you can buy them using your DOGE stash.
It is the only cryptocurrency that Tesla accepts. It’s not unreasonable to expect that the Tesla smartphone, if it’s ever released, could be bought using Dogecoin.
But Don’t Get Your Hopes Up
While a Tesla smartphone would be a fantastic addition, and may seriously challenge the duopoly of Samsung and Apple, it’s unlikely to come anytime soon. For starters, Musk has his hands full of a bunch of different projects, and a smartphone might not rank highly on his list of priorities.
After all, he’s working on sophisticated technology like brain-machine interfacing!