Ever since Elon Musk bought Twitter last year, his master plan to create an “everything app” has been taking shape.
On Tuesday, the billionaire cryptically hinted at his plans in an “X” tweet. While Musk did not elaborate on the tweet, it came after it emerged that Twitter had merged with a shell company called X Corp.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Twitter was incorporated into X Corp, citing an April 4 document submitted as evidence in a lawsuit against Twitter and co-founder Jack Dorsey. The news reports that the billionaire set up a tripartite holding company in Delaware with a variation of the name “X Holdings” when he first offered to buy the company last year. It is unclear what the new shell company will mean for Twitter, but it certainly points to Musk’s larger plans for the social media company.
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For Musk, Twitter represents the first step towards what he calls “X”, his vision of a new kind of social media platform that most people in the US have never experienced. The Tesla CEO said the acquisition of Twitter accelerated his creation of X and will kick-start the process in three to five years.
Musk has been talking about building X for months. In August, when a Twitter user asked Musk if he was considering building his own social platform, the Twitter boss replied “X.com,” a web domain he bought five years ago. At Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting the same month, Musk said of X, “It’s something that will be very useful for the world, something with a very big vision.
While Musk has yet to reveal whether his goal is to turn Twitter into X or to use Twitter to create an entirely new platform, the billionaire has dropped a few hints about his plans to shake up the social media world.
Here’s what Musk had to say about X:
A new ‘super app’
X won’t be the first app to try to do a little bit of everything. In fact, Musk said in May that it could be inspired by Chinese social media giant Tencent’s WeChat, one of the world’s biggest super apps.
WeChat acts as an all-encompassing service that includes messaging, video chat, video games, photo sharing, ride services, food delivery, banking and shopping.
“If you’re in China, you’re living in WeChat,” Musk said. “It does everything; it’s Twitter, plus PayPal, plus a whole bunch of stuff, all in a great interface. It’s actually a really great app, but there’s nothing like it anywhere outside of China.
In his first meeting with Twitter employees last year, Musk said it was a “real opportunity” to create a similar app outside of China.
“I think if we can do that, or even get close to that with Twitter, that would be a tremendous achievement,” he said.
Matt Navarra, a senior social media consultant, told Insider that it wouldn’t make sense to eviscerate Twitter and turn it into a super app, but that Twitter could become a kind of “mini-app” within the larger platform Musk would build.
A blockchain-based platform
Musk also talked about creating a social media platform built on the blockchain. The billionaire is known for his love of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Dogecoin.
Last April, Elon Musk mentioned the idea of a “Doge” social media platform in messages to his younger brother Kimbal Musk. These private messages between the brothers were made public as part of Musk’s court battle with Twitter.
“I have an idea for a blockchain social media system like Twitter that does both payment and text messaging/linking,” Musk said in the message. “You would have to pay a small amount to register your message on the chain, which would eliminate the vast majority of spam and bots.
Musk also said the site would have a ”massive real-time database” that would keep permanent copies of messages and followers, and a ”Twitter-like app on your phone” that could access the database in the cloud.
In February, the Financial Times reported that Musk planned to add crypto functionality to Twitter once the platform was approved for payments. According to the FT, the social media company has applied for a series of licenses to allow the platform to process payments, a key feature of super apps like WeChat.
Paid subscription model
Musk’s idea for a blockchain-based platform is fueled by some of the controversy surrounding Twitter’s revenue model.
The billionaire has repeatedly voiced his distaste for ads, but they make up the vast majority of Twitter’s revenue. In a tweet last April, which he later deleted, Musk said the company should exist without ads.
Musk later talked about monetizing Twitter through alternative methods instead, including charging some users to use the site. Shortly after buying Twitter, Musk began charging Twitter users for the app’s blue checkmark.
The billionaire also noted that the app could help pay users directly. In 2021, Twitter launched a “Tips” feature that gave users the option to pay with Bitcoin.
“It’s important for content creators to have a share of revenue,” Musk said at an event for his All-In podcast in May.
In February, Musk said Twitter would soon launch an early version of a program that would allow some creators to get paid for their tweets.
I hate advertising
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2019
Emphasis on freedom of expression
Whatever Musk builds, it is expected to have a much freer free speech policy than Twitter today.
Musk often refers to Twitter as a “town square” and says he opposes censorship that “goes far beyond the law”.
The billionaire has been critical of Twitter’s ban on some users, including its permanent ban on former president Donald Trump following the riots at the US Capitol. In November, Musk fulfilled his promise to reinstate Trump’s account.
Social media expert Navarro said companies would not want to advertise next to posts that could be considered distasteful, but it could be a good move for Twitter to diversify its revenue sources.
Battle against bots
One thing is clear in Musk’s dealings with Twitter: The billionaire’s social media platform will eliminate bot accounts.
Musk has called bots on Twitter “the most annoying problem” and has made reducing the number of fraudulent accounts on the site the centerpiece of his initiatives.
In an interview at TED 2022, Musk said this was the first thing he would change as Twitter’s new owner.
On Monday, however, he said Twitter’s subscription process would help eliminate “impersonation fraud” on the site.
