From Dogecoin to Twitter: The Making of the Everything App

Depending on whom you ask, Elon is either an egotistical villain or a savior. He is currently the world’s richest man, with a net worth of about 200 Billion. Well, with that kind of money it becomes easy to create products that have a direct impact on people’s daily lives- with huge repercussions.

Now, Elon is not your average billionaire. Most of the time, he has swayed the masses to his favor, much to the chagrin of big tech. This has turned him into somewhat of a cult, with a huge following and an enviable portfolio of companies that seek to upend conventional beliefs and corporations. From Neuralink to Space X , Tesla to the Boring Company, he is an entrepreneur who seeks to “disrupt” global order as he strives to achieve what may somewhat be thought to be impossible - until it's done.

Twitter Acquisition and Association with  Dogecoin

Elon’s recent acquisition of Twitter may not have come as a surprise, seeing the influence this app has on disseminating and sharing “truth”. 

He offered to buy it at a ridiculously high rate ( USD 44 Billion)- perhaps an indication that he believed the app was worth a lot more. The buying process was initially marred by accusations and counter-accusations, until the deal finally went through at the end of October 2022. After purchasing it, he said that he intends to make Twitter the most accurate source of information across the world by empowering citizen journalism.

” It is important for the world to have a common digital square where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy
manner without resorting to violence” ,

he stated in a statement after the acquisition.

Recently, Elon shared screenshots of an internal meeting he had on Twitter- showing the progress of the platform and future plans that included introducing a payment system. This caused Dogecoin to rally and gained about 19% from the news. The relationship between Elon and Dogecoin isn’t new. From the time Elon bought Twitter, there were rumors that the company has been working on a development that would allow crypto payments, and the market interpreted this to mean Dogecoin would be the choice of crypto. Elon has also been posting dog-themed memes 
on his account, perhaps confirming the widely held beliefs that indeed this may be the crypto that would most likely be adopted on the platform.

The Everything App

How he intends to promote global truth, we are yet to know, but one thing is for sure, he is on a mission to redefine this space and we are already seeing lots of resistance from Big tech - If recent rumors of Apple delisting Twitter from its App store are anything to go by. What we also know is that this acquisition may gel well with his desire to create an app that he once called the x app or the everything app- something similar to TenCent’s we chat or Alipay, but for the world.

Also called a super app, an everything app is an app where you can do everything without leaving the app. Think of it as a single app that contains all the digital services you may need-from chatting to booking a  hotel,
even hailing a taxi, or making payments to your local store. These apps are dominant in the Asian region. In China, an app like Wechat is ubiquitous and essential for everyday use. More than a billion people have access to We chat in  China and use it to do basically everything from paying bills to booking medical appointments. Other apps in Asia that have adopted this model are the Grab app in Malaysia and Singapore and the Line app in Japan.

Elon once mentioned that acquiring Twitter will accelerate the development of X or the everything app by at least three to five years.

We have already started seeing developments geared towards attaining this goal, especially with the launch of Twitter 2.0. It seems that Elon would like to ape the models of Wechat, Grab, and Line but this time scale it up for the global audience. So basically, the X app would be the same as Wechat, but for the world. If the recently shared screenshots on his Twitter page are anything to go by, then the new app will include video streaming, video chats, long texts, and payment platforms- building blocks for a diversified platform.

Add Neuralink to all this talk and the conversation on what this app may accomplish changes. Neuralink is a company owned by Elon that wants to implant coin-sized computer chips into human minds.

They recently stated that they are awaiting FDA approvals and will start trials for this in the next 6 months. So, maybe, Elon’s goal for the X app is to ultimately have it work as a computer- chip implanted in human brains and do “ everything”, if it could.

Challenges in Setting up the Everything App

As he pursues this goal, there are hurdles that have to be overcome. Firstly, he is not the only entrepreneur that wants to create this app.

Some companies have already tried this and achieved success  (within their geographies). He is therefore bound to face stiff competition from these companies and other big tech companies that are working on this- Facebook is a good example. Facebook is striving to create a platform that will be a melting pot for all online services- from payments to interactions and even booking appointments. Other big tech companies that have also made forays into this domain are Google, Tiktok, and even Uber. Secondly,
most people, especially in the West, are not accustomed to this and may find it hard to adopt a single app that “does everything”. This may explain the modest success achieved by other big tech companies that have tried to launch this kind of app in America. Finally, regulatory hurdles may arise, especially if he were to incorporate crypto payment solutions.

Even with all these bottlenecks, Elon doe not shy away from a good fight. He has demonstrated time and again his ability to get into industries that are considered ‘impossible to penetrate and deliver game-changing products that reshape an entire industry. Wishing him away may not
be an efficient strategy. Savvy investors may try to get into some of the
companies/ solutions that would most likely be adopted into this trend.
Cryptocurrencies like Doge are a good buy at this stage.

It will most likely continue its upward trajectory for as long as Twitter intends to create a payment gateway. However, there is no guarantee that it will be  X app’s currency of choice.