Elon Musk revealed on Wednesday that his social media platform X is on the verge of obtaining a money transmitter license in New York, bringing it closer to introducing payment features.
Speaking at the Morgan Stanley technology, media, and telecom conference, Musk mentioned the likelihood of X securing its license in California within the next month or so, while New York approval might take “a few months.”
Since Musk’s acquisition of the platform formerly known as Twitter in 2022, he has aimed to transform it into an “everything app,” similar to Tencent’s dominant WeChat app in China. This transformation includes features beyond social media, such as the capability to send money to other X users.
For X to provide services across the United States, experts assert that the platform needs a money transmitter license in each state. Musk has emphasized that obtaining approval in New York and California is particularly significant, given the states’ large populations and comparatively prolonged approval processes. Some states, including Pennsylvania and Utah, have already granted money transmitter licenses to X.
During the conference, Musk, who also leads Tesla and SpaceX, indicated that X is contemplating removing the visible count of likes and reposts on each post, citing concerns about visual clutter on the platform.
