Move over, iPhone. There’s a new player in town, and it’s backed by none other than tech’s most unpredictable genius — Elon Musk.

While Apple fans were still reeling from the leaked images of the iPhone 17, which sparked immediate backlash across social media, Musk and his team at Tesla quietly dropped a bombshell that could upend the entire smartphone industry: the long-rumored Tesla Pi Phone is real, it’s integrated with Starlink, and it’s launching with a shockingly low base price of $1,099.

And guess what? Americans are racing to pre-order.

The Apple Backlash: “What Were They Thinking?”

Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 was expected to be a showstopper. But instead, the leaked design caused an instant firestorm.

“It’s like Apple is evolving in reverse,” one Redditor wrote, comparing the iPhone 17’s new look to a “Pixel 9 Pro that fell down the stairs.”

The camera array in particular came under fire, with users joking it looked like “the lenses were in a domestic dispute.” Memes exploded across X (formerly Twitter), with users mocking Apple for “recycling the same look” but somehow “making it uglier.”

Even Elon Musk couldn’t resist. He reposted one viral image of the iPhone 17 with a sarcastic caption:

“For only $50 billion in R&D, what a bargain!”

It was a jab heard around the internet. And it hit a nerve.

Enter: The Tesla Pi Phone

Elon Musk’s Tesla Pi Phone isn’t just a new smartphone — it’s a complete rethink of what a phone can be.

Built to seamlessly integrate with the entire Musk tech ecosystem, the Tesla Phone promises game-changing features:

Starlink satellite connectivity (yes, it works without cell towers)

Military-grade encryption and privacy

Direct control of Tesla EVs and Optimus robots

Native support for Neuralink and Grok AI

Solar charging panels and Mars-ready durability

In other words, it’s not just a phone — it’s a Musk machine.

And all of this starts at just $1,099 — a price point that undercuts high-end iPhones and Android flagships that now regularly top $1,300+.

The Hype Is Real — And the Pre-Order List Proves It

Tesla isn’t offering walk-in orders just yet. Instead, customers must reserve a spot for the Tesla Pi Phone — and the waiting list is reportedly growing by hundreds of thousands each day.

“I’m done with Apple,” said Marcus J., a 32-year-old software engineer from Austin, TX. “I’ve owned every iPhone since the 4, but this iPhone 17 design is lazy. Elon’s phone is bold. It’s everything Apple stopped being.”

Social media is flooded with screenshots of pre-order confirmations. And even long-time iOS fans are publicly declaring they’ll at least try the Tesla phone — citing Apple’s stagnation and Musk’s innovation as the tipping point.

Why This Could Change the Game

What makes the Tesla Phone truly disruptive isn’t just the hardware — it’s the ecosystem. By linking your smartphone to Starlink, Tesla EVs, AI assistants, and (eventually) brain-machine interfaces via Neuralink, Musk isn’t just selling a device.

He’s selling an entirely new way of interacting with technology.

Apple, by contrast, is still stuck debating port types and camera bump aesthetics.

“This is Musk’s Trojan horse into every American pocket,” one tech analyst tweeted. “If it works — and that’s a big if — this could be Apple’s first serious threat in over a decade.”

A Tesla You Can Actually Afford

The Tesla Roadster? Still not here. Cybertruck? Still limited. But the Pi Phone?

$1,099. One click. Your spot reserved.

For many Americans, this may be the first Musk product they can own without breaking the bank. And that alone is adding to the buying frenzy.

Final Thoughts: A Defining Moment?

As Apple fumbles with controversial design decisions and Samsung plays it safe with incremental upgrades, Elon Musk is making noise — and making it loud.

The Tesla Phone could still face technical challenges, carrier resistance, or production delays. But if it delivers on even half of its promises, it may mark the beginning of a major shift in the smartphone industry.

So for now, as memes continue to dunk on the iPhone 17 and the Tesla Pi Phone preorder page sees unprecedented traffic, one message is echoing louder than ever:

Bye Bye Apple…?

Time will tell.