Is Elon Musk finally developing a product the channel can sell?

Will the controversial billionaire launch a smartphone?

Elon Musk has pledged to go toe to toe with Apple and Google by launching an "alternative phone".

The controversial billionaire emerged as the most-respected tech figurehead among the 125 UK IT channel executives featured in this year's CRN A-list (see bottom).

And now the tech entrepreneur, best known for his Tesla EVs and SpaceX spacecrafts, has raised the prospect that he could develop a product those 125 executives could actually sell.

On Friday, the world's richest person said he "will make an alternative phone" if Apple and Google ban Twitter from their app stores (amid perceived concerns over its content moderation policies). His comments came in response to a tweet by conservative commentator Liz Wheeler.

Musk stressed that he hopes "it does not come to that" but escalated his row with Apple on Monday by claiming the iPhone maker had "mostly stopped advertising on Twitter" and that it had "threatened to withhold Twitter from its App store".

Musk's threats to launch a smartphone add to long-standing rumours of a so-called ‘Tesla phone'.

The row comes after Musk yet again emerged as the UK IT channel's most admired tech figurehead.

In a virtual replica of last year's results, some 17 of this year's A-listers picked Musk, ahead of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on eight picks.