Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) to launch video & audio calling feature to take on WhatsApp

As part of his vision to build an “everything app,” Elon Musk announced Thursday that X (formerly Twitter) is planning to launch video and audio calls that will make the platform “the effective global address book.” The launch will set the stage for X to compete with Meta’s WhatsApp, which currently has over a billion users.

In a post on X on Thursday, Musk said that users will not need a phone number to use the new features that will be made available on Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, and personal computers, eliminating the necessity for users to possess a traditional phone number.

Video & audio calls coming to X:

– Works on iOS, Android, Mac & PC
– No phone number needed
– X is the effective global address book

That set of factors is unique.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 31, 2023

Since rebranding Twitter to X last month, Musk has signaled he would turn the platform into a super app offering similar to Tencent’s WeChat which offers a range of services from messaging and social networking to peer-to-peer payments.

Musk has made a lot of changes to Twitter since he acquired the platform for a whopping $44 billion a year ago. Last month, he rebranded the social platform from Twitter to X to reflect his vision of transforming the platform into what he refers to as an “everything app.” The change is set to reshape the platform and potentially expand its functionality beyond its traditional social media roots.

The company’s iconic blue and white bird logo of Twitter was retired, giving rise to the new identity, X. Renaming of Twitter services, including TweetDeck, quickly followed suit.