Elon Musk has been back and forth on a $44 billion plan to buy Twitter since April, though it appears he now plans to buy the social media company after all. What this means for Twitter and Musk’s “Super App” plans is not yet clear, but according to his own predictions, the acquisition could fast-track the path to the combined platform.
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Above: Elon Musk. Photo: NASA Kennedy / Flickr
Musk said he’s looking to create the “X,” “everything app” with his newly revived purchase of Twitter, as reported by Barron’s. The “super app,” as Musk has called it in the past, could be years out still, but it must be a pretty significant investment to him since he’s taking time to go through with the deal while also serving as the head of both Tesla and SpaceX.
In the past Musk has likened the idea of this kind of all-encompassing app to China’s WeChat, suggesting alongside many in the tech industry that it could be the next big thing on the U.S. investment front. Specifically, the app is expected to combine elements of payment systems, social media, messaging and perhaps even more.
“Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app,” Musk said on Twitter.
The news comes after Musk’s deposition for an upcoming trial with Twitter was delayed, due to his choice to buy the social media company at the initially agreed-upon price of $54.20 per share. The trial, which was set to begin this month, was scheduled after Twitter sued Musk to force him to buy the company after he expressed plans to back out. In response to the suit, Musk countersued the social media platform, which was to send the case to trial.
Now, Musk has until October 28 to officially close the acquisition deal with Twitter, or the two parties will again have to proceed toward the trial. Musk previously cited whistleblower concerns and a lack of transparency about spam account data on Twitter’s part.
However, he now seems hyper-focused on delivering the first U.S. “X app” using the platform. After another user followed up and expressed that they thought building X from scratch would be easier than buying Twitter, Musk doubled down on the thought, adding again that the acquisition would help accelerate the path to the app.
“Twitter probably accelerates X by 3 to 5 years, but I could be wrong.”
Source: Barron’s
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