X’s ‘Everything App’ Vision Remains Distant After Two Years

Nearly two years have passed since Elon Musk made the significant decision to rebrand Twitter as X, fulfilling a long-held aspiration of creating an app under the domain x.com. This ambitious transformation reflects Musk’s vision for an all-in-one platform that goes beyond social media, aiming to integrate various functionalities into one cohesive application.

While this ambition may seem peculiar to some, it’s essential to note that Musk acquired the x.com URL in the early 2000s, maintaining ownership with the goal of eventually launching a comprehensive, payment-oriented application named “X.” His affinity for the letter “x” is evident in this branding choice, which suggests a desire for a unique identity in the digital landscape.

The pressing question now is: How successful has the X rebranding been? Is X truly on the trajectory towards becoming the “everything app” Musk envisioned? The answer appears to be mixed, depending significantly on one’s perspective on the ongoing developments.

To assess the rebranding, it is noteworthy that recent reports, such as those by Sherwood, indicate that Google searches for “x login” have surpassed those for “twitter login” for the first time since the transition. This trend signals a growing recognition of the app as X, marking a crucial milestone in its rebranding journey.

While this increase in search traffic is encouraging, it’s critical to recognize that this data pertains solely to web traffic. Given that the majority of X’s usage occurs on mobile devices, the increase in searches for the login page is likely indicative of casual users rather than regular, engaged users.

Moreover, these new users may not yet be fully integrated into the platform, which suggests that while the rebranding is gaining traction, it may not be reaching all the intended audiences effectively. This observation points to a gradual shift in perception, suggesting that the rebranding is indeed starting to take hold in some meaningful capacity.

However, despite these positive signs, X has faced challenges in fully distancing itself from its previous identity. Much of its documentation still references “Twitter” and “tweets,” creating a lingering connection to the past. Musk has expressed confidence that users will eventually forget about Twitter, believing that the enhancements in X will make it a superior platform.

While it’s unclear if X has completely lived up to this promise, it does appear that users are gradually acclimating to the new branding and identity. This transition raises the subsequent question: Is X genuinely evolving into the “everything app” that Musk envisioned it could be?

The truth is, at this point, X is not on track to becoming the “everything app.” Despite the lofty claims and ambitious rhetoric from Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino, the platform essentially mirrors Twitter with only minor updates and changes that have not significantly altered user engagement or experience.

In fact, many of the changes have not contributed positively to user experience. For instance, while X has proclaimed itself a video platform, there has been minimal enhancement in promoting video content within the app, and the company has not announced many substantial video partnerships outside its initial collaborations.

Although a new video tab was introduced earlier this year, one might expect that a platform aiming to prioritize video content would lead with a video feed on the home screen, which has not been the case. This raises questions about the platform’s commitment to becoming a video-first application.

Moreover, X’s payment initiatives remain in a nascent stage, with Musk and his team still navigating the complexities of obtaining the necessary licensing to implement their in-stream payment features. This delay in launching payment capabilities may hinder X‘s ability to fully realize its potential as a comprehensive app.

While Yaccarino suggests that the payment features are forthcoming, and that they are experimenting with the in-app payments process, it remains to be seen when these functionalities will be available, especially since they have not yet launched in the U.S.. This uncertainty casts a shadow over the timeline for launching these features in other regions as well.

Another significant consideration is X’s user engagement metrics. Musk initially projected that X would achieve a staggering 600 million active users by 2025 and reach 931 million by 2028. Evaluating how close the platform is to these ambitious targets depends heavily on the interpretation of its current user statistics.

For context, when Musk took control of the app in 2022, Twitter had approximately 217 million monetizable daily active users (mDAU). Recently, Musk claimed that X has grown to 600 million monthly active users (MAU), which, while impressive, could be misleading.

Technically, this indicates progress toward Musk’s projections, but it’s essential to note that his original growth targets were for daily active users, not monthly users. Therefore, while it could be argued that X is experiencing growth, it’s not quite on the path Musk had envisioned.

Currently, X’s daily active user count stands at around 250 million mDAU, a figure that has remained stagnant since November 2022. This stagnation raises concerns about the platform’s ability to attract and retain users effectively.

Evidence also suggests that X may be losing users, particularly in Europe, where there has been a reported 15% decline in usage since Musk’s acquisition. This statistic, derived from the platform’s EU transparency reports, highlights potential challenges in maintaining engagement in key markets.

This notable decrease in European users contradicts Musk’s claims of substantial growth, as it indicates that to achieve overall user growth, X would need to compensate by adding significant numbers of users in other regions, which may not be occurring.

Furthermore, website traffic statistics have shown a decline, although there was a slight increase noted in May according to SEMRush data. Additionally, X’s app download rankings are trending downward, suggesting that there is limited evidence to support the assertion that the platform is successfully attracting new users.

This lack of concrete growth in users further highlights the challenges X faces in realizing its ambitions as an “everything app.” However, there remains a glimmer of hope that with the eventual rollout of payments and the addition of video content deals, X could still have the opportunity to fulfill its potential.

Ultimately, the current state of X may be less critical than it once seemed, especially considering that xAI has acquired X and utilizes it as a vital data source. This acquisition alleviates some pressure on X’s business operations, as it now shares funding with xAI, allowing Musk to continue raising capital for his AI initiatives amidst growing interest in technology.

Thus, X is likely to remain operational for the foreseeable future. Yet, as we evaluate the app’s performance after two years, taking into account various factors, it’s difficult to label it as an unequivocal success.

While one might argue that Musk’s involvement in helping Donald Trump during the election cycle could be seen as a significant achievement, the broader context of X’s development reveals that the platform still harbors numerous ideas but lacks substantial results in transforming itself into the platform it aspires to be.