Strange tweet
“X, the everything app” – what Elon Musk could do with Twitter
Twitter probably gets: Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk.
© Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/DPA
It seems like Elon Musk is really buying Twitter. He explains why in a tweet. According to Musk, Twitter is helping to make “X, the everything app” a reality faster. But what can that be?
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter is an unparalleled squabble. At first Musk just wanted a say, then he decided – perhaps also with encouragement from Springer boss Döpfner – to buy it. Then he didn’t want to anymore, now again. Originally, his intentions were simple: Musk wanted to provide a platform for free speech that would work without any form of censorship. But now, it seems, Musk has other plans for the social network.
“X, the everything app”
Musk explained the purchase in a tweet that followed shortly after the official announcement by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. He writes: “Twitter is an accelerator for the creation of X, the everything app.” Another user counters that it would be easier to rebuild this app from scratch. Musk goes on to say, “Twitter is probably accelerating X development by three to five years, but I could be wrong.”
But what is behind “X”? First of all, this is an old Musk company. “X” was an online financial services company co-founded by Elon Musk in March 1999, later merged with a competitor and now known as Paypal. The X.com domain was bought back by Musk in 2017, previously owned by PayPal. He said at the time that the domain had great sentimental value for him, but it seems he has other plans.
Musk planning a “West Wechat”?
Based on Musk’s previous comments regarding “X”, “Bloomberg” has come up with a theory of what this “everything app” could become. One possibility: Elon Musk is planning a “western version” of the Chinese app “Wechat”. Musk had apparently admired “Wechat” in the past for having created a kind of “mini Internet” from a simple messenger that is used by billions of Chinese every day for payments, conversations and social interactions. In fact, life in China without “Wechat” is hardly conceivable.
So “Wechat” is very close to being an “everything app” if you look at what’s possible with it. In addition to the services mentioned, such as payments and conversations, the app also includes a gigantic business area where people can shop, book tables in restaurants or order food. This is possible because “Wechat” allows additional programs and offers interfaces to link your own services to the ecosystem.
In addition, “Wechat” is the only news portal for many Chinese. News, videos and all imaginable content can be found there, leaving the platform is actually not necessary. Basically, “Wechat” connects a lot of apps, for which there are usually individual providers outside of China who operate without a common basis.
Twitter brings users – but little else
With Twitter, Musk would have a significant user base to build his additional services on. Because to stomp such an app out of the ground without an existing audience is mostly wishful thinking.
In “Western Wechat”, however, Musk would have to do without a core function of “Wechat” if he is serious about “free speech”. Because “Wechat” is considered an extremely effective monitoring tool, with countless moderators and control systems checking the messages for undesirable content.
source: Bloomberg