Elon Musk took a big step forward this week in his quest to tear down what’s left of Twitter and build his longtime vision for an “everything app” containing messaging, media, shopping, and payments. That consisted of retiring the Twitter name and replacing its iconic bird logo with the new “X” brand name. It was a bold move to blow up the company’s valuable trademark, but not difficult to do. The hard part is what comes next.
If Musk is to pull off his plans to make X an everything app similar to China’s WeChat, he’ll have to overcome what seem like insurmountable obstacles. The most obvious one is regulation. Musk is already unpopular with the SEC and other federal agencies for his cavalier attitude toward corporate governance, and his constant trolling on social media. At a time when regulators are taking a hard look at tech monopolies, they are unlikely to welcome an “everything” service—especially one that includes crypto and has banking aspirations.
