Elon Musk Declares ‘X’ Will Be a ‘Fully-Fledged’ Dating Site Within The Year: Report
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Elon Musk’s grandiose plans for X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, have expanded into the dating realm, according to a report from Business Insider.
The website cited two sources who were present during an all-hands video call on the one-year anniversary of Musk’s acquisition of the social media platform for $44 billion.
The call’s reported purpose was to review all of the changes Musk has made to the platform over the past year and to ramp up excitement for 2024.
“Musk did not get into details of how exactly X would become a dating app, if there was any user demand for such features, or what further product changes would be made to turn it into one, one of the people present said. However, the idea is in line with Musk’s push for features that require payment, as most dating apps today are some form of subscription service,” Business Insider reported.
In addition to the dating feature, Musk told employees that X will also operate as a digital bank, the sources reported. The banking idea isn’t new, with The Wall Street Journal reporting in April that it was part of his plan to turn X into a $250 billion business.
“He wants people to pay for everything,” a source told Insider, adding that building X to operate as a bank “doesn’t seem to be what users really want.”
Bloomberg’s Dave Lee reported last month that Musk wanted to charge “everyone” who used X. Users who recently signed up in New Zealand and the Philippines have already begun paying $1 a year to use the platform, according to a source.
“X is still in the process of getting the appropriate licenses in each US state to offer any kind of banking or money transfer services. The platform so far has received licenses in nine states, most recently Iowa and Mississippi, according to an online log,” the Business Insider report said.
Forbes estimated that X would bring in $1 billion less in advertising revenue than last year due to “brand safety issues, confusing policies, and broken technology.”
Business Insider said an X spokesperson didn’t respond to their request for comment.
