Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, is set to introduce in-app payment services on its social media platform by mid-2024.

Musk shared this insight during a conversation with Cathie Wood of ARK Invest on December 21 on X Spaces. The full launch of payment services is contingent upon the approval of several pending money transmitter license applications. The tech mogul expressed a desire to expedite the launch but acknowledged bureaucratic processes as contributing to delays.

Addressing concerns about potential obstacles to money transmitter license approval, Elon Musk stated that he was not aware of any significant hindrances. He emphasized that X had submitted the necessary documents, albeit later than intended.

While speculation persisted about the integration of Musk's preferred cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin, he has yet to confirm this, dampening crypto enthusiasts' expectations after revealing diminished interest in digital assets.

(Photo: ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)
X (formerly Twitter) CEO Elon Musk holds his son as he arrives at the Atreju political meeting organized by the young militants of Italian right-wing party Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) on December 16, 2023, at the Sant'Angelo Castle in Rome.

Is Elon Musk Distancing From Crypto?

Coin Telegraph reported that the development in X's in-app payment services signifies a departure from immediate crypto integration. Even though Musk seems to have abandoned crypto, Tesla still has $148 million in Bitcoin. Tesla also accepts Dogecoin for Tesla Shop transactions. In 2022, Musk's tunnel construction company, The Boring Company, was reported to take Dogecoin for Las Vegas transportation fares.

When questioned about his engagement with cryptocurrency, Elon Musk admitted to dedicating minimal thought to the subject. Nonetheless, he underscored Tesla's continued involvement with crypto and explained his perception of money and digital assets as a "database for resource allocation." Musk asserted that fiat currency remains acceptable as long as state actors refrain from manipulating its supply.

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X Suffers Massive Outage as Tension with Disney Escalates

On Thursday morning, over 90,000 X users faced a significant outage, marking one of the most severe disruptions since Elon Musk took over in October 2022, per Gizmodo. Reports on Downdetector indicated outages between 12 AM and 3 AM EST, affecting approximately 70% of X app users globally. Simultaneously, Google searches for "Threads," Mark Zuckerberg's alternative, surged during the outage, reaching peak interest in the United States at 1 AM on December 21st.

Despite X's recent feature additions, including job postings and the AI chatbot Grok, it continues to lose users to the more stable Threads, which has rapidly grown to 450 million potential users in Europe.

The X outage's cause remains unknown, and recent updates to X's software may or may not be related to the disruption. The incident highlights the ongoing struggle of X, with Elon Musk's rebrand failing to gain traction while Threads steadily attracts users.

This week also saw increased tension between Elon Musk and entertainment giant Disney when he reportedly decided to remove Disney+ from Tesla vehicles, a move seen as a response to Disney's advertising withdrawal from Musk's social media platform X.

In November, major brands, including Apple, Sony, and Disney, paused their ad campaigns on X after Musk endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory posted on the platform, leading to increased friction between Elon Musk and Disney.

Several Tesla owners expressed frustration over the app's sudden absence, characterizing it as a retaliatory move, and they find themselves caught in the crossfire of this ongoing feud, according to  Mashable.

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