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Elon Musk wants X to replace users' bank accounts within a year

Elon Musk wants X to manage users' "entire financial life" so that they "won't need a bank account" by the end of next year.

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Elon Musk wants X to replace users' bank accounts within a year

Editorial

This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community.

Musk has long boasted about his plans to move X (formerly Twitter) beyond its microblogging beginnings into an app that does everything, including an array of financial services.

At an all hands call with employees this week, audio of which was obtained by the Verge, Musk said: "When I say payments, I actually mean someone’s entire financial life."

"If it involves money. It’ll be on our platform. Money or securities or whatever. So, it’s not just like send $20 to my friend. I’m talking about, like, you won’t need a bank account."

With X currently applying for money transmission licenses across the US, Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino are aiming to have a host of financial features available by the end of 2024.

"It would blow my mind if we don’t have that rolled out by the end of next year," Musk told staffers.

Twitter has previously nibbled around the edges of financial services, adding a tipping feature for users to reward creators on the platform and enabling people to charge subscription fees for exclusive content, like newsletters.

However, Musk is determined to go further, fulfilling his vison for the original X.com, which he founded a quarter of a century ago.

"The X/PayPal product roadmap was written by myself and David Sacks actually in July of 2000,” Musk said on this week's call.

"And for some reason PayPal, once it became eBay, not only did they not implement the rest of the list, but they actually rolled back a bunch of key features, which is crazy. So PayPal is actually a less complete product than what we came up with in July of 2000, so 23 years ago."

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Comments: (7)

A Finextra member 

I can't imagine ever trusting Muskatel with even $1 of my money.

Vincent Reboul

Vincent Reboul MD at Hitachi Capital UK

I suppose musk is thinking Russian money laundering

Ketharaman Swaminathan

Ketharaman Swaminathan Founder and CEO at GTM360 Marketing Solutions

The blockbuster success of Tesla is Exhibit A that nobody cares about "overpromise and underdeliver" ethos as long as whatever is eventually delivered is a step up from the leading incumbent's product / service.

Tesla is also Exhibit A of making a success of something new after half a dozen others have tried the same thing for decades and failed.

Ergo, I won't rush to dismiss Elon Musk's claims regarding banking, however tall they might seem now.

A Finextra member 

He can find people to do it.  That's not the issue.   I don't trust him.

Ketharaman Swaminathan

Ketharaman Swaminathan Founder and CEO at GTM360 Marketing Solutions

Millions customers and shareholders of Tesla trust Elon Musk with their money that's not insured by FDIC. I don't think he'll have a big problem getting millions of people to trust him with their money that will be insured by FDIC.

The whole point of a banking charter is to obviate the need for the common man to do due diligence on the bank in which they deposit their money.

A Finextra member 

Musk has made it clear he can't be trusted, that at best he's unstable, at worst he's just plain nuts.  At Tesla, he had software created that would cause Tesla's on 'autopilot' drive through stop signs, and even stop lights.  He's turned Twitter into a gathering place for hate mongers and conspiracy theorists.  His Space company destroys the communities it builds in.  So no, if I were FDIC I'd never trust him.

A Finextra member 

Ummm. I think a reality check is in order for Elon. Victory for Musk in so many ways, is fleeting. He has tremendous competition already outdoing Tesla now despite massive price cuts and the Cybertruck is a disaster as has been several of the solar roof and other initiatives. As Tesla falls to at best a competitor in a crowded and just-as or more-innovative field of well-heeled providers in EVs and battery tech, he'll need to pivot to something else to soothe his ego...so not surprised with his latest "X comments". As usual, his comments are half-explained (and maybe half-baked) hype. But that hasn't stopped him or his friends from claiming lots of things and lining up lemmings to invest in the past!

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