Elon Musk has shared some insights into progress projections for the X app, in addition to how X is at present performing, as a part of a broader all-hands assembly of the brand new, mixed xAI and SpaceX group.
Following the departures of a number of xAI executives, Musk sought to reassure workers of his future course, by outlining his evolving plans to construct a base on the moon, develop xAI, and extra.
And inside that, we additionally obtained some notes on X particularly, which level to how the platform is performing, and how much utilization X is at present seeing.
First off, X’s head of product Nikita Bier stated that X has now hit a $1 billion annual run price for X subscriptions.
X Premium has been a serious level of rivalry, with Musk hoping, initially, to get the vast majority of X’s customers to pay for the app, as a method to each generate further income (lowering reliance on advertisers) and deter spammers, by making account creation cost-prohibitive.
However so far, X Premium hasn’t seemingly caught on in a serious method, with reviews suggesting that solely round 1% of X’s consumer base are paying for the app, although earlier this 12 months, exterior information did recommend that there had been an uptick in X subscriptions, pushed by curiosity in its Grok AI instruments.
And now, X claims that it’s now reached $1 billion in annual income from subscriptions.
I imply, that’s nonetheless a great distance off what the platform generates from adverts, however for comparability, Snapchat not too long ago reported that it earned $750 million from Snapchat+ subscriptions in 2025. So X reaching $1 billion is inside the realm of what may very well be anticipated, with increasing curiosity in Grok serving to to drive extra curiosity in its paid choices.
Musk additionally gave an odd overview of how X really has one billion customers, or could have quickly, or one thing.
As per Musk: “The explanation we are saying 1 billion customers is that whereas our month-to-month customers are, on common, round 600 million, the quantity of people that have the X app put in is properly over a billion, it is simply that most individuals solely sometimes come to the X app when there’s some main world occasion. However as we give folks extra causes to make use of the X app, whether or not it is for communications, for Grok or for X cash, regardless of the case could also be, we would like it to be such that, for those who wished to, you can dwell your life on the X app, and as we make it increasingly more helpful, we’ll clearly give folks compelling causes to make use of the app day by day, and my expectation is properly over a billion every day energetic customers.”
So, X doesn’t have a billion customers now, nevertheless it has a passive utilization of over a billion, and it’ll have a billion actives someday quickly.
Although even the consumer depend quoted right here is in rivalry, as a result of earlier within the week, Bier famous that he serves as buyer help for 500 million folks.
So, X has 500 million or 600 million energetic customers, however really, a billion folks may use the app if it was higher. So Musk is claiming a billion customers, or saying that that is the purpose.
Both method, there’s one thing a few billion customers right here.
X additionally claims that January noticed a serious spike in general engagement, whereas February will beat that once more, whereas first-time downloads are additionally up 50%.
And by way of what persons are doing within the app, X says that the quantity of long-form articles revealed on X has jumped 10x, with studying of long-form posts within the app up 17x.
Although while you supply a $1 million prize for the most well-liked article within the app, that can are inclined to drive much more curiosity.
Lastly, Musk additionally mentioned the event of X Cash, which he hopes would be the subsequent huge evolution for the app.
Musk’s dream is to create an all-in-one platform, through which customers can have interaction, store, pay payments, and so on., all in a single app, as Chinese language customers do on WeChat, however so far, Musk’s hopes for even easy cash transfers in-stream have been dashed by regulatory approvals, which X has been struggling to acquire in some U.S. states.
Musk initially stated that it will “blow my thoughts” if X didn’t have funds transfers up and working on X by the tip of 2024, however greater than a 12 months on, we’re nonetheless but to see something on this entrance.
Although Musk says that it’s coming.
Musk says that X Cash is already working internally, with expectations of a public launch inside the subsequent two months.
Yeah, I wouldn’t be betting an excessive amount of on that occuring, and Musk does have a protracted historical past of overly optimistic projections. However because it stands proper now, X doesn’t have a cash transmitter license in New York, a key state for its plans, and with out that, and approval in a number of different U.S. states, I’m undecided that we’re going to be seeing X Cash in 2025.
However Musk says that it’s coming, most likely by April. So we’ll see.
X didn’t supply perception into its advert enterprise, so we don’t have full perception into the efficiency of the app, however these notes do present some further context as to how the X undertaking is evolving, as Musk and Co. search for methods to make it a extra invaluable, partaking platform.
And it additionally types a key a part of X’s AI plans, with X information feeding into the xAI system. So it’s a essential puzzle piece for Musk’s broader plans, and it’ll be attention-grabbing to see if and the way X can get extra of its viewers again in 2026.
