After having already conquered Tesla and SpaceX, what’s next on Elon Musk’s entrepreneurial to-do list? A new report suggests he may be planning to create a super app that combines functions from other popular social media platforms such as Twitter, Spotify, and Airbnb. But in order for his plan to succeed in China, he might need help from China-based entrepreneurs first.
A new discussion about what the billionaire would do with the site if he finally acquires it has been triggered by Elon Musk’s renewed $44 billion plan to purchase Twitter.
Musk said in a tweet on Tuesday that acquiring Twitter will “accelerate the creation of X, the everything app.” He didn’t give any further information.
Musk could be making reference to so-called “super applications,” which are common in China and other areas of Asia and were developed by companies like Chinese internet giant Tencent.
Super apps are used to refer to applications that frequently serve as one-stop shops for all of your mobile requirements. You might use the app to order a cab or meals while making payments and sending messages, for instance. This does away with the necessity for many applications for various tasks.
With over a billion users, Tencent’s WeChat is the most popular mega app in the world.
WeChat users have access to a wide range of features, including messaging, mobile banking, barcode scanning for in-person or online purchases, games, posting videos, online shopping, auto hailing, and many more.
It’s possible that Musk is referring to WeChat when he talks about “the everything app.”
During a town hall with Twitter workers in June, the Tesla CEO had voiced respect for WeChat, calling the service “amazing.” According to Musk, there is no international WeChat competitor.
Musk told staff, “And I think that there’s a tremendous possibility to build that.” Due of WeChat’s immense utility and usefulness in daily life, it is said that users in China essentially live there. And I believe Twitter would be a huge success if we could get there or even something close to it.
In comparison to the 237.8 million users at the end of the second quarter, Musk stated that he wants at least a billion people to use Twitter.
WeChat Pay is one of the most notable aspects of the app. Users may use this feature to pay with their phone by scanning a barcode in a store, or they can use the chat functionality to send money to pals. Online purchases can also be made with WeChat Pay.
During the town hall, Musk expressed his opinion that accepting money on Twitter would be “fun to do.”
Super applications like WeChat, however, haven’t really caught off in a significant manner in western areas like Europe and the United States.
Given that Musk has already criticised Twitter’s content moderation system, which the billionaire believes has hampered free expression, and the fact that WeChat is severely regulated in China, Musk is unlikely to do the same with Twitter.
