The Tesla Phone Story: Is the Model Pi real?

Even though there’s no shortage of phones from big manufacturers like Apple, Samsung and OnePlus, the allure of a supposed Tesla phone has been hard to shake, which has led to endless speculation about the company’s plans for such a device, including fans combing through the many tweets and speeches of Elon Musk for any shred of information.

Dubbed by many as the Tesla Model Pi, such a concept might seem fanciful at first, but with such a deluge of rumours and conflicting information out there, it can be tricky to separate fact from fiction. For instance, what hardly helps matters is the existence of an actual ‘Tesla phone’ from a Siberian company that bears the same name as Elon Musk’s.

Do a quick Google for ‘Tesla phone’ and one of the first results you’ll see is for the Tesla Explr9, alongside the Tesla Series 3 (which sounds suspiciously like the Tesla Model 3). It’s all very confusing, and Musk himself has changed his mind on more than one occasion when quizzed on the idea of the real Tesla producing a mobile.

For the folks who want to get a better understanding of what’s been said, as well as a definitive answer to whether or not the Tesla smartphone is real and on the way, you’re in the right place as we’ve collated all you need to know about the Tesla Model Pi.

Has Tesla already launched a phone?

You may have seen plenty of videos on YouTube and TikTok of Tesla releasing a $100 phone that ‘broke the internet’, but there’s no evidence that these devices are real, and the likelihood is that it’s just clickbait from AI-powered sites trying to create some revenue.

It’s not a new thing, as you’ll see from searching for ‘Tesla phone’ on YouTube, which throws up plenty of ‘it’s just been released!’ style videos all talking about something that never happened. It’s fake news, to put it simply, and they keep popping up regularly to cash in.

A quick trip to the official Tesla website reveals no news about the mysterious phone, which doesn’t sound like the kind of marketing technique that we’d expect from the company. Nor anything from Elon himself on the huge social network he owns, X (formerly Twitter).

Further confusion might come from the fact that there is a smartphone brand called Tesla that does make a couple of phones, alongside fridges, dishwashers, ovens, air conditioning units, TVs and other domestic tech.

The company isn’t pretending to be linked to Musk’s outfit, though, as a quick look in the FAQs finds this answer to the question of whether it makes electric cars.

“Nope. That is Tesla Inc., which provides solar, energy storage, charging, and vehicles as part of its mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. We make and distribute consumer electronics products and household appliances inspired by Nikola Tesla’s idea to provide technology for all,” it clearly states.

At the tail-end of 2025, a fairly shoddy video confirming the existence of the Model Pi did the rounds on TikTok, and while most eagle-eyed viewers could spot from a mile away that the thing was a hoax, there were a few unsuspecting Tesla fans who were convinced.

The video itself details all of the supposed features that the phone would bring to market (including several that have been speculated on later in this article), such as integration with Starlink for mobile data that’s purely independent of the typical SIM-card/network model.

The Model Pi is depicted as having a vibrant blue colourway with a camera bump that feels like a midway point between what you’ll find on the iPhone 17 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. What really gives the game away, however, aside from the terrifying AI-generated Elon Musk who appears early on, is that a different version of the phone is shown right at the end, which looks nothing like the device that the video has focused on.

Due to its proliferation, the video has been reported on by a handful of outlets, but only to confirm that it is indeed a hoax and hopefully prevent it from being further misinterpreted.

What has Elon Musk said about Tesla making a phone?

Some of the speculation surrounding the Tesla phone rumours has come from comments Elon Musk has made on the subject.

Back in 2020, Musk said on X (formerly Twitter) that smartphones were “yesterday’s technology.”

Instead, he pointed towards Neuralinks. This refers to the development of chips that can be implanted in the brain to allow devices to be controlled by the electrical impulses created when we think.

One of Musk’s companies, Neuralink Corporation, is already heavily involved in developing this technology, but it will probably be a long time before having yourself ‘chipped’ will be a real thing. Fortunately, Severance is still a fictional show.

Still, there is some reason to think that Musk is either developing a phone or considering it at least.

In the wake of speculation (started by Musk himself, it’s worth adding) that Apple was considering evicting the then Twitter from the App Store, the social network’s new owner did suggest that he would make his own phone, but only “if there is no other choice.”

In more recent comments by Musk, it has been reported by The Standard that while out on the political campaign for Trump, he spoke about his thoughts regarding Tesla and a phone.

“That’s a lot of work. The idea of making a phone makes me want to die,” Elon said. “But if we have to make a phone, we will, but we will aspire not to make a phone.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement then.

This follows on from another quote mentioned in The Standard report, which was given at a New York Times event in November 2023, where Musk said, “if there’s an essential need to make a phone, I’ll make a phone, but I’ve got a lot of fish to fry.”

These sentiments were repeated on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where Musk commented that Tesla didn’t want to make a phone but, “If Apple and Google Android started doing really bad things, like censoring apps or acting as gatekeepers in a harmful way, then I guess we’d make a phone.”

While it’s not beyond the realms of possibilities for Tesla to suddenly announce a handset, Elon Musk doesn’t seem that enthusiastic about driving up the marketing hype.

What has Tesla said about the Model Pi?

The most recent bit of information that seemingly puts the nail in the Model Pi’s coffin is the publishing of Tesla’s Master Plan Part IV. More than anything, the plan shows that Tesla wants to focus its efforts on automation above everything else over the next couple of years.

This shift towards automation applies not just to driverless vehicles but also to Tesla’s robotics division, which foresees a workforce comprised of Tesla Bots (also known as Optimus), with the push to bring electric vehicles to the masses seemingly taking a backseat. There’s no mention of a smartphone anywhere in the plan.

If Tesla is trying to pivot itself away from EV products and towards more business-like solutions, such as automation, then it’s hard to imagine that the company will want to divert attention away from that concept to then take on Apple and Google in the smartphone market.

What features and specs could we see in the Tesla Model Pi? 

Ok. Hold onto your hats for this.

With the Tesla ‘Model Pi’ being something of an urban legend at the moment, the rumour mill has gone into quite strange territory when it comes to the kind of features Tesla could introduce with its debut phone. 

Design

Concept artist Antonio De Rosa has created some lovely images that show off the potential design choices Tesla could make, although of course this is entirely conceptual and not based on any hard schematic evidence. 

Solar power

Probably the most realistic of all the rumours is that of Tesla incorporating solar panels into the device to allow recharging without the need for an electrical power source. This makes sense, as it would fit with the ecologically minded Tesla brand, while also making use of the solar technology already developed by the company. 

Whether solar charging tech is ready to keep a phone topped up all day, especially when the phone itself spends most of its time in your pocket or bag, is another matter entirely of course.

There are also quite reasonable stories of the Model Pi integrating closely with Tesla cars, allowing greater control over settings and features when on the move. 

Starlink support

Moving to the more fanciful, there are plenty of reports that the Model Pi will use the Starlink service provided by Musk’s SpaceX company. This is essentially satellite-based fast broadband that should provide coverage in many areas where 5G fears to tread.

Satellite connectivity began to appear back in mainstream phones like the iPhone 14 series, Huawei Mate 50 Pro and well as subsequent models, but the implementation has been basic, and primarily intended for simple emergency communications at times when regular signal is unavailable.

Fans are hoping that any Starlink integration would be more sophisticated.

Neuralink

Remember the Neuralink technology we mentioned earlier? Well, plenty of fans are hoping that the Model Pi will be compatible with the Brain-Machine-Interface (BMI) chips that would allow users to control their devices by thought.

While this sounds incredibly interesting, if trying to get Siri to call the right person or Alexa to select the correct music track is anything to go by, the idea of a mind-control phone could be the stuff of nightmares. 

Mars Attacks!

Finally, the most bonkers of all the popular rumours we’ve seen is that the Starlink technology will allow the Model Pi to work on Mars. Yep, Mars.

Frankly, we’d be more impressed if Tesla could fix it so that we got a decent signal in the local coffee shop rather than on Olympus Mons. That would be a real breakthrough.

How much would the Tesla Model Pi cost?

That would be anyone’s guess. If it contains half the features speculated on by fans, there’s a good chance that it would be at the upper end of the market, but since there’s no real evidence of an actual phone, any price would be pure speculation.

You can ignore those YouTube videos saying it costs $100.

For more affordable devices that actually exist, be sure to check out our guide to the best phones available.