Elon Musk plans to launch ‘X’ app after Twitter buyout
Elon Musk is drawing ideas from WeChat as he envisions the future of Twitter. The software tycoon’s ambition to develop an app for everything has only been briefly described, and experts caution that it won’t be easy to achieve.
Tesla CEO announced late Tuesday that he planned to create a new app called “X” after purchasing Twitter.
He tweeted, “Getting Twitter is an accelerator to building X, the everything app.” A video function on Twitter similar to TikTok will be introduced.
Musk’s statement came in response to allegations that he had once more changed his mind and decided to move forward with his bid to buy Twitter for $44 billion, which was the price initially agreed upon back in April.
The purchase would give the richest man in the world authority over one of the most significant social networks after months of wrangling and unpleasant U-turns.
Now, comparisons have been drawn between Musk’s desire to develop what is supposed to be a flexible platform and “super-apps” in Asia, which are essentially one-stop shops that do it all for users.
The social network is used by more than a billion members, the most of whom are in mainland China, to carry out practically all of their everyday tasks without ever leaving the app, such as placing grocery orders, booking yoga sessions, and paying bills.
In other regions of Asia, users have flocked to apps like Grab (GRAB) in Singapore and Malaysia and Line in Japan. While Grab was primarily recognized for its ride-hailing services, Line first gained popularity as a messaging app. Both have now significantly grown to accommodate new functions.
When it comes to his desire to replicate WeChat’s success, Musk hasn’t kept back. In a town hall with Twitter personnel in June, he contrasted Twitter’s potential with that of Tencent’s widely used service in China.
Elon Musk plans to launch ‘X’ app after Twitter buyout
The inclusion of the largest portion of the nation and the entire world should be a priority for Twitter, according to Musk. Because WeChat is so functional and useful for day-to-day living, “you literally live on WeChat in China. I think if we can reach that, or even get close to that at Twitter, it would be an amazing success.”
Elon Musk is one well-known US tech executive who has adopted China’s strategy. The CEO of Facebook (FB), Mark Zuckerberg, had earlier stated that his company might use WeChat as a case study.
