Elon Musk announced he will soon disable his phone number and solely use X for phone conversations‚ video calls‚ and text messages. “In a few months‚ I will discontinue my phone number and only use X for texts and audio/video calls‚” Musk said. In a few months‚ I will discontinue my phone number and only use X for texts and audio/video calls — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 9‚ 2024 Musk has made his intentions clear with X‚ formerly known as Twitter. He wants to transform the platform into the ‘everything app.’ “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X‚ the everything app‚” Musk said in 2022. Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X‚ the everything app — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4‚ 2022 X CEO Linda Yaccarino showed off the feature last October. Video calls pic.twitter.com/PXIzrQ8Mz2 — Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) October 26‚ 2023 Zero Hedge noted: X’s feature to make calls is exclusive to Premium subscribers. Nonetheless‚ these subscribers (charged $8 per month) can call any user on X‚ provided the user has previously sent them at least one direct message. If Musk gives up his phone number‚ a major question remains on how the billionaire will deal with the two-factor authentication that some apps and services require. Musk has stated China’s WeChat is a “good model” for X. It’s critical to constantly remind readers Elon Musk’s eventual goal for X is to become the ‘everything app‚’ similar to China’s WeChat. The Chinese Communist Party utilizes WeChat for its social credit system‚ which recently expanded the usage of digital ID and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). WATCH: Elon Musk‚ when he was pursuing purchase of Twitter: ‘We Chat is a good model. If you live in China‚ you live on We Chat. It does everything. A Western We Chat needs to exist‚ whether Twitter is converted or start something new. It needs to happen somehow’ pic.twitter.com/TBoTVysk00 — Maurice Pinay (@MauricePinay) August 10‚ 2023 “My idea would be like how about if we just copy WeChat. Copy them‚” Musk said. “It’s WeChat and Alipay‚ who built the world first COVID track app and digital/QR code vaccine passport‚” said Songpinganq. “Chinese people were literally on their knees‚ begging Chinese officials to scan/verify their QR codes/vaccine passport.” It's WeChat and Alipay‚ who built the world first COVID track app and digital/QR code vaccine passport. Chinese people were literally on their knees‚ begging Chinese officials to scan/verify their QR codes/vaccine passport.https://t.co/kmnX4sFPy4 pic.twitter.com/3uSFKTw2Ek — Songpinganq (@songpinganq) July 24‚ 2023 Mashable wrote: Elon Musk wants to turn X‚ the platform formerly known as Twitter‚ into an “everything app.” Based on these features‚ private audio and video communication seems to play a role in Musk’s vision just as much as public posts‚ audio chats via Spaces‚ and video livestreaming. X previously launched the audio and video call feature for iOS back in October 2023. It’s unclear‚ however‚ just how much it’s being used. The feature hasn’t caused much of a stir online when it comes to public chatter from X users. Being able to call an X user from the app itself may sound interesting‚ and perhaps it could be useful if you know the user and just don’t have their contact information readily available. However‚ it also seems potentially rife for abuse from spammers and scammers. After all‚ if someone you urgently want to communicate with hasn’t provided you with their phone number or email address‚ there’s probably a good reason why. Currently‚ X users can utilize the feature through their iOS and Android devices only. X users can control who calls them – whether any Premium subscriber can give them a ring or if it’s limited to only users they follow or are in their phone’s address book – by going to their Settings in app and toggling the options in the Messaging section. These controls will likely come in handy in the event that the worst users on X decide to actually start fully utilizing audio and video calls. What’s next for X transforming into the ‘everything app’? Payments. “Elon Musk is moving forward with his plans to turn the company formerly known as Twitter‚ now called X‚ into an ‘everything app’ that includes its own payments system. The company in late November was granted three additional money transmitter licenses in the U.S. states of South Dakota (on November 27)‚ Kansas (on November 28) and Wyoming (on November 30)‚ bringing the total number of states where the company is allowed to engage in money transfers to 12‚” Rob Vendetti wrote. “The other states where the company had previously been granted a money transmitter license include Arizona‚ Georgia‚ Iowa‚ Maryland‚ Michigan‚ Mississippi‚ Missouri‚ New Hampshire and Rhode Island. All of the states were licensed this year‚ starting with New Hampshire on June 29‚” he continued. “Arizona‚ Michigan and Missouri were added in July followed by Georgia‚ Maryland and Rhode Island in August‚ and Iowa and Mississippi in September. The registrations are associated with a business named ‘X Payments LLC‚’ formerly ‘Twitter Payments LLC‚’ which will operate the money transfer operations at X. (The name of the license may vary‚ but all would allow X to process payments or move money in the state.) Musk confirmed the additions in a post on X‚ in response to an article by The Street which noted the November 27 addition of South Dakota. The Street’s reporting indicated the company had only been registered in 10 states‚ according to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System’s database. Now‚ the database is showing the most recent additions‚ as well‚” he added. “However‚ Musk has previously spoken about his plans to morph X into a payments platform‚ having earlier detailed his vision for the future of the company shortly after the acquisition. He has described Twitter‚ now X‚ as a place where users would be able to send money to others on the platform‚ and extract their funds to authenticated bank accounts‚ and perhaps later‚ a high-yield money market account that would encourage people to keep their cash in accounts with X. This plan would put X into competition with PayPal‚ a company Musk is crediting with co-founding via its merger with his http: //X.com. With Twitter‚ Musk is hoping to once again complete the vision he had for http: //X.com as a disruptor to the existing banking system. Whether or not that move will also involve crypto is yet to be determined‚ but it’s worth noting that a money transmitter license would be required if X were to support cryptocurrencies. Payments are also tied into X’s broader move into the creator economy‚ where X users with at least 500 followers and 5 million organic impressions on their posts over the past three months can become eligible for ads revenue sharing‚” he noted. X NOW LICENSED FOR PAYMENT PROCESSING IN 12 US STATES: Elon Musk is moving forward with his plans to turn the company formerly known as Twitter‚ now called X‚ into an “everything app” that includes its own payments system. The company in late November was granted three… pic.twitter.com/KwrkFVYUMX — Rob Vendetti (@rob_vendetti) February 3‚ 2024 More from TechCrunch: Of course‚ X’s ability to monetize via ads has taken a downturn in recent days‚ as an advertiser exodus was prompted by Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic post on the platform and reports that brands’ campaigns were appearing next to hate speech. As a result‚ X has lost several larger advertisers‚ including Apple‚ Disney‚ IBM‚ Paramount‚ Warner Bros.‚ Lionsgate‚ Comcast/NBCU‚ Walmart and others. The company also lost a deal with Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media‚ which would have seen the celeb tout live audio‚ live video and live shopping on X. Musk lashed out at Hilton after the deal went south‚ but the departures could spell trouble for X’s monetization plans‚ and therefor its creator economy and payments ambitions. The company said it would focus on small business advertisers in the near term and is also planning to make Musk’s new AI‚ Grok‚ available to X’s paid subscribers as another source of revenue.