What the ‘X’ is Happening?

The saga of Elon Musk and Twitter is still unfolding. By renaming Twitter to X, Musk has hinted at why he paid billions of dollars to acquire it. Read to find out why we think he did so.

Elon Musk’s idea of rebranding Twitter to X is more than just a name change. In fact, it’s a part of his long-held ambition to create an ‘Everything App’ to combine messaging, payments, networking, and more, on one platform. Even if the services of the X app are hazy at the moment, you can certainly expect that Musk is going to launch a supersize app larger than WeChat in China and Grab in Singapore. He plans to overtake WhatsApp in numbers as well.

A super app is a multi-service platform where users can access a vast range of services. Essentially, it’s a fusion of many apps we often use, which eliminates the need to download and switch between numerous apps. As users can order food, connect with people, book tickets and more on a single platform, this one-stop app simplifies tasks and offers a seamless experience.

Statistics reveal that more than 50% of the world’s population will turn active users of super apps by 2027. In this aspect, X is the future of unlimited interactivity centered around news, messaging, networking, banking and of course transportation. Powered by AI, X will create a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services and opportunities that connect us in ways never imagined before. In this article we discuss the range of X’s services you can expect and what it means for you.

X will be the go-to app for social networking with full multi-media support including the ability to chat as well. The super app will act like a news as well as current affairs source including AI-driven knowledge akin to ChatGPT. Its entertainment abilities will be a competition to YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify, while the interface to events make it a central hub for events ticketing.

We expect that almost all consumer services will be delivered through the app including reservations from airlines to restaurants. Its e-commerce capability may complement Amazon and other popular portals at the same time with its own e-commerce platform for groceries.

Health services like appointments, insurance and social benefits could also be served through a single ‘X’ app.

Undoubtedly, the convenience, flexibility and speed offered by super apps would reshape the way we interact and transform the landscape of digital services. It is therefore no wonder that he was willing to spend billions of his dollars to acquire the brand that in its heydays had a mind-boggling followership of over 368 million.

Mohammed Sutarwala, Managing Director, emQube