Elon Musk’s Quest for a “Super App”: X.com Is Just the Beginning

Twitter used to be a famous social media platform for people from any walk of life. All social classes, including elite, higher, or middle-class people, are on Twitter to get updates from their favourite person globally. In the midst of 2022, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter changed the game upside down. 

He introduced new features, some of which were unnecessary, making users stop using Twitter. It created room for companies to compete with the giant Twitter. Meta of Mark Zuckerberg launched Threads in 2023 as a major competitor to Twitter. This event ignited a rage among the two mega business magnates, Elon Musk and Mark Zuck. 

Recently, Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to X Corp, replacing its renowned bird logo with an X logo. Twitter is now under the X Corporation, owned by Musk, with an ambition to make it the super application in the world. This article will explain why Elon wants to make Twitter or X.com a “Super App”.

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Musk’s Acquisition of Twitter

In April 2022, Elon Musk started a deal to own a few shares on Twitter. Later, he made a deal to acquire the renowned social media platform by purchasing each share with 54.20 USD, making a total bid of 44 billion USD for the platform. 

Musk looked up to buy Twitter since he stated that this platform should become private as it has myriads of potential that needs to be unlocked. He ensured to apply free speech principles alongside bringing innovative changes to Twitter. 

Later in October of the same year, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair Bret Taylor agreed to the terms proposed by Elon Musk in the acquisition of Twitter. It was agreed for the betterment of Twitter’s stockholders as Musk proposed the betterment of Twitter in terms of value, functionality, features, and statement. 

Related: Twitter CEO Reveals X.com: AI-Powered and Beyond Imagination

Radical Rebranding of Twitter to X

Musk is obsessed with the alphabet X, as he named many of his businesses with X as an alphabet in the name. For instance, SpaceX, X.com, etc., are a few of his many innovative and giant business structures. 

Twitter, on 24th of July 2023, rebranded its famous blue bird logo to X with a statement that X will be the global “Super App”. At this moment, only the branding changed; The rest of the features remain intact. However, the future of Twitter or X.com is predictable in compliance with the many statements from Elon Musk. 

He is enthusiastic about creating a platform that users can use as a one-stop shop solution for their daily needs. For instance, Musk thinks of making Twitter a state-of-the-art platform where users can communicate, make transactions, and much more. Concisely, X will be a social media platform with financial integration, making it an everything app. 

X – An Everything App

As Musk thinks of Twitter as an everything app, it is crucial to understand the inspiration for this thought. Let’s talk about “WeChat”, which is a China-based application with features ranging from communication to banking and other financial features. 

Tencent owns WeChat, which is the super app in China with over a billion users. WeChat is a massive messaging app used commonly in China. WeChat Pay is another side of this super app that enables users to transact nationwide. You must know that Elon Musk praises this super app, inspiring him to transform the existing Twitter or X into such a “Super App”. 

Elon Musk may face a few challenges while implementing this thought of transforming X to an everything platform. Here are a few challenges that Musk needs to tackle:

#1. A New Finance Technology Infrastructure

For X to become the everything app that Elon Musk aims for, there must be a separate and complete financial technology infrastructure to handle the transactions and banking matters. Though Elon co-founded X.com, which later rebranded to PayPal, creating a new financial infrastructure may become a hurdle in fulfilling this impressive dream. 

Since Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, many advertisers and users have left this social media platform, and Elon Musk must create an attractive strategy to get them back. He must earn their trust again to recover Twitter or X’s decreasing brand equity. 

#2. Worst Market Position for Super App

Currently, X faces fierce competition from Threads by Meta. Twitter’s competitor, Threads, has created a record of quick users in a short amount of time. It approves the fact that X is in a challenging market position for any change in the current business model of Twitter or X. 

X’s banking or financial services are also prone to hectic competition from the existing business models in the US. If we compare the market condition of WeChat, plenty of room for innovation can be found with a lack of rivalries. The global market is different in this regard, making it challenging for Elon Musk to fulfil his dream of creating an everything app out of Twitter. 

#3. Instant Improvements to Twitter or X

The reason for the success of the Threads app is due to the loopholes found in Twitter. Threads handled those shortcomings expertly, attracting massive amounts of users from Twitter. But Twitter or X popularity is intact up to a greater extent. With a few X changes and improvements, users will return to this popular social media platform. 

These changes can be a challenge for Elon Musk as he has already changed many aspects of Twitter but with a certain fee. The creation of Twitter Blue, a paid version of Twitter, allows users to write lengthy posts, upload longer videos and content, and also get the blue verified status. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Was Twitter Rebranded to X?

The reason for the rebranding of Twitter came directly from Elon Musk, stating that this rebranding reflects the name change and his plan for the renowned social media platform. He aims to create an everything or super app out of Twitter. 

What Is a Tweet Called After the Rebranding of Twitter?

A user asked the Twitter owner, Elon Musk, about the name of the tweets after the Twitter rebranding to X. He responded that tweets would be called X’s. 

Can Twitter Become a Super App?

It depends on the changes Elon Musk brings to this platform and the trust of users and advertisers. With a room in the US and Europe for an everything app, it seems that X can become an innovative all-in-one platform.