Elon Musk said buying Twitter would speed up the creation of something he called “X, the everything app", suggesting he has ambitions for adding services to the blogging tool he wants to take private.
In his first public remarks since reviving the effort to buy Twitter for about $44 billion, Mr Musk called the acquisition “an accelerant” to building a kind of multi-function app.
He tweeted, "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app."
In the past, Mr Musk has mused aloud about making Twitter more useful, indicating that he wouldd like it to be more like WeChat, a messaging service that is hugely popular in China, and TikTok, the Chinese-owned video-sharing service that has taken off around the world.
He has drawn parallels to so-called super apps that are widely used in parts of Asia.
They give users a single smartphone application for a broad range of services, from messaging and other communications to ordering food and summoning a car.
A western parallel would be Meta's Facebook, which offers many services for users in the US and globally, all on one app.
The Tesla chief executive did not explain what “X” was, but he said in a follow-up tweet that Twitter “probably accelerates X by three to five years".
Although Mr Musk has not disclosed his plans for Twitter, he has said the service could charge business and government users.
Agencies contributed reporting
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Elon Musk's 2022 - in pictures
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Tesla chief Elon Musk and his children Damian, Kai, Saxon and Griffin meet Pope Francis in July at the Vatican. AFP -
Mr Musk speaks by video in June to the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. Bloomberg -
Mr Musk answers questions at the Qatar Economic Forum. Bloomberg -
Mr Musk arrives at the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in May. Reuters -
Mr Musk and his mother Maye Musk arrive at the Met Gala in May. AFP -
The Musks pose and laugh on the Met Gala red carpet. EPA -
Mr Musk waves at the Met Gala. Reuters -
Mr Musk joins in online at the 'Financial Times' Future of the Car Summit in May. Financial Times -
Mr Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, in March. Reuters -
Mr Musk at the Tesla factory in Berlin, Germany, in March. AP -
Mr Musk speaks at SpaceX's Starbase centre in South Texas in February. AFP -
The entrepreneur shakes hands with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Porto Feliz, Brazil, in May. AP -
Mr Bolsonaro and Mr Musk greet each other in Sao Paulo. Reuters -
Indonesian President Joko Widodo meets Mr Musk at the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, in May. Reuters -
Mr Musk shows Mr Widodo his mobile phone during a tour of the SpaceX launch site in Texas. Reuters
